It's a Lifestyle

My Soggy Half Marathon

2010-11-10T14:43:00.003-05:00

So Sunday I ran the US Half Marathon through the nicest parts of San Francisco and inadvertently participated in a wet t-shirt flash mob. After weeks of sunny days, mother nature decided to rain exactly during my half marathon. It was 13.1 miles of pouring rain. The course itself was great because it was a longer version of the Presidio 10 I did this spring. There's always a rush you get out of running across the Golden Gate Bridge. Well, if I had windshield wipers on my glasses I would have gotten that rush, otherwise I could only see about ten feet in front of me. The rain was a pain in the ass in other ways as well. It added another five pounds of weight on me both in the form of wet clothes and wet shoes. The clothes got bad in mile 10 when my shorts began to slide off me and I had to periodically pull them up. And whenever I would step into a puddle, my shoes would get waterlogged. Oh, and at mile 4, my iPod gave out so I just running with no tunes.

On the plus side, I didn't have have problems with overheating or getting thirsty. And surprisingly, I has plenty of kick for the end. I am surprised I didn't just cramp up with being wet and cold but I didn't.

Being a wet, sodden mess, I was happy to just finish the race. In the end, I did just fine. I finished in 2 hours, 9 minutes and 59 seconds for a pace of 9:56/mile. That placed me firmly in the middle of the pack - 1292 out of 2976 runners and 316 out of 499 male runners between the ages of 30-39.

Three days later, I'm feeling pain free and am looking forward to running a 10K with my family on Thanksgiving Day.

Enough with the rice and beans

2010-10-25T15:40:00.001-04:00

So Feministe puts this very interesting post linking to a New York Times slideshow about what $1 will buy you. It's interesting and sad to see that you can buy a crappy meal with processed food or you can buy...ten organic blueberries. Should be eye opening for folks to see how your money goes and how badly supported non-conventional farming is because they need to charge that much.

BUT THEN....the comments. Oh the comments. The first comment brings out the tired tired tired point that rice and beans are cheap and nutritious. I just have to say. SHUT UP ABOUT THE RICE AND BEANS. Fine they got you through that two week stretch between paycheck entitlement asshole but please, once you got paid, I'm sure you went out for sushi or the Whole Foods salad bar. Because seriously, noone's gonna live on rice and beans for the rest of their lives. And condemning poor people to a life of rice and beans is a pretty asshole move.

There were time where I did live on a food stamp budget and I ate really well. But few people were in my position. I lived in a group house where we shared food. We shared chores so the same person shopping for groceries was not the person cleaning toilets. We had a list that the grocery person check the fridge and pantry to see what we were missing. Most of the folks had a car we could use to get the groceries. AND the prices at the Chevy Chase Safeway was like 30% cheaper than the SE Safeway.

For people of privilege to give these rice and beans prescription to low-income folks is just insulting. Folks may be poor but they deserve more than rice and beans. Oh and by the way, as a diabetic, rice and beans suck because they are high on carbs. So suck it clueless people.

Sugar free along zabaglione

2010-09-14T14:36:00.000-04:00

My biggest fear about being diabetic (apart from losing a limb or going blind) was having to eat sugar substitutes. As someone who believes in healthy eating and not eating chemicals, that kind of bugged me to the core. It took about a week to get over that because I like sweets and I like my eyesight and my limbs. So Splenda it is!

I wouldn't recommend sugar substitutes for everything. Basically because a lot of desserts have so much flour in them that they end up being crazy high in carbs even with a sugar substitute. So that leaves things that don't require much flour. I've had massive success with pavlovas and now I've made a pretty kicking zabaglione.

For those of you know familiar with them, a zabaglione is the base for a tiramisu - egg yolks beaten with sugar until they are pale yellow and the consistency of cake batter. I think the traditional zabaglione is made with marsala wine but you can change up the liquor. The zabaglione is then given more structure with mascarpone and lightened with whipped cream. Splenda is a great substitute and the tang of the mascarpone really covers up the icky aftertaste. I will say though, with egg yolks and whipped cream, this is not diet food.

Sugar Free Almond Zabaglione

3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons of almond liqueur
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup of baking Splenda (this is lightened to be a 1 to 1 substitute for sugar)

8 oz mascarpone (or cream cheese if you are in a pinch) at room temp
1 cup of heavy cream, whipped

With the paddle attachment on your stand mixer (or use your regular handheld), mix the first four ingredients until it's a pale yellow and looks like cake batter. Add the cheese and mix until perfectly blended. Add 1/3 of the whipped cream to the cheese mixture to lighten and then fold in the rest. Serve with flaked almonds on top.

A great blog entry on Fat Hatred

2010-09-09T14:55:00.001-04:00

This is so my story:

"She was convinced, absolutely convinced, I was in terrible health because of my weight. EVERYTHING was brought back to my weight. She blamed my hay fever on my weight. When she told me — not asked me, told me — that I was short of breath while climbing stairs and I responded that I was a runner, so no, she told me running was bad for me at my weight."

Just read it.

Why Fat Acceptance Needs to Happen Now

2010-09-02T14:38:00.002-04:00

A friend of mine recently got diagnoses with pre-diabetes. Looking at her numbers, they are actually better numbers what a lot of diabetes counselors would want their clients to achieve. She admitted she went to her doctor to talk about weight loss earlier so the doctor was on high alert for signs of "weight related" complications. As someone living with diabetes, I responded that it's always better to get into shape BUT her numbers were actually decent. Not great and not something to blow off but decent.

The big part of the conversation was about unpacking the fat hatred and fear she was experiencing. My friend is a big woman. She doesn't exercise regularly. And i don't know what she eats on a regular basis. My response was - it's always good to make healthy changes in your lifestyle no matter what you weigh. Your health will improve if you exercise more, eat more fruits and veggies and less starches and fats. But NONE of that guarantees you will lose weight.

Right now, I am about 12 pounds heavier than I was at my lowest weight. My blood sugar levels and cholesterol levels are what you see in athletes. And guess what, I am an athlete. My BMI stays in the obese range and I'm an athlete. I run 18 miles a week. I am preparing for my first half marathon after running a 12k and a 10 mile at an 8:30 minute/mile pace. And I'm fat. And that's not just my story. "STEVEN N. Blair, one of the nation's leading experts on the health benefits of exercise, is short and fat. Those are his words. The president and chief executive officer of the Cooper Institute, a nonprofit organization in Dallas dedicated to research on the relationship between living habits and health, Dr. Blair, 65, is 5-feet-5 and weighs 195 pounds. He's also a dedicated runner who habitually takes off for an hourlong jog. 'I'm a short, fat guy who runs every day,' Dr. Blair said in a recent phone interview. 'I've run tens of thousands of miles over the past 40 years, and in that time I've gained 30 pounds.'"

I asked my friend, "how would you feel if you could run 10 miles easily and regularly ran 18 miles a week and you were exactly the same weight?" Her response was - "pretty pissed."

More inspiration - Keeping it up

2010-07-14T15:09:00.002-04:00

So I'm reading this tomatonation advice entry about someone who is beating herself up over having a letdown after a marathon and not exercising for a while after that. Suffice to say that she is being too hard on herself and giving yourself rest is the best thing you can do. I take a week off after a race and the next week I only do low-impact like the elliptical.

But key to this is making sure your goals are YOUR goals. One commenter recommended this guy as someone to keep folks inspired. I read the website and I am impressed. I am proud to be a penguin, knowing that I will be firmly in the middle of any pack I run. BUT I do better with each race and, on occasion, in costume. He makes a great point thusly, "We—the few, the proud, the plodding—very often train as much or more than faster runners. At a blistering twelve (or even ten) minute pace, a fifteen mile week represents a major time commitment."

As I've said before on the blog. It's about the doing. Our bodies are temperamental things. They retain weight. They react badly to medication. They get injured. Sometimes we can't control the body but we can control the mind. We can decide to do something. And we can decide to keep doing it. As I stay on this journey and get off course, the times I slack off means I get to start again. And in true penguin style I think this way, "The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start."

In the words of Gloria Gaynor - "It takes a lifetime to become the best that you can be. There's no return and no deposit, so you have to like what's in your closet."

Satisfaction

2010-06-21T12:56:00.002-04:00

So today I went for my yearly opthamologist appointment to check on the health of my eyes. For those of you longtime readers, you may remember that the way I found out about my diabetes was an eye doctor found the beginnings of blood vessel damage in my eyes which led to the diagnosis. A year and a half later and a whole lot of better numbers I go back to the eye doctor and he says..."Are you sure you're diabetic?"

SCORE!

Unlike a lot of chronic disease, I actually REVERSED the effects on my eyes and there's NO TRACE of damage to my eyes.

Well that makes the running, the food long, the carb counting and the classes worth it.

Tip of the Week - Work events

2010-05-21T12:50:00.002-04:00

Ok. Here's a quickie. Never go into a work event hungry. So if you've got that fundraiser at 7:00 pm. Go to your stash of fruit and nuts and have some. Because going to a buffet of appetizers hungry is as bad news as going to the supermarket hungry.

Bay to Breakers 2010 - Kicking Ass

2010-05-17T15:24:00.003-04:00

So Bay to Breakers. This year I couldn't get it together to do a costume. It would have been great if I did because it was COLD. Andi Never get cold. But being in a wet t-shirt for hours means you are a little more vulnerable to the elements. The funniest thing that happened was seeing a dead ringer for Sarah Palin - bouffant hair, lipstick, glasses - asking for her picture and her asking me why. She wasn't in costume.

I thought I did fine. Probably better than last year but not by much. I was way back from the start line because my shuttle bus was late so the time one the clock was 1 hour 12 minutes (a little under a 10-minute mile pace) but I know it took me four or five minutes to get to the starting line. Hayes street hill kicked my ass but the rest of the course was flat. My first three miles ended up averaging 10-minute mile pace (because I was walking the first half mile because of the crowds. I really cranked it up the last half. My mile five and six were something like an 8 minute mile. I slowed to about a 9 minute mile pace in mile 7.

And the verdict? I finished in 1 hour, 6 minutes, and 40 seconds. That's an 8 minute, 56 second/mile pace. Sub 9!!!!! I would have never guessed but then again. Last year, with significantly less training I did 9 minute, 11 second pace. ROCK ON! It's seems to be a theme this year that I can't really gauge my speed and races seem to be a tougher slog. It feels like I am running slower but clearly I am not.

The funny thing is that the world is running faster because I finished 2875 out of 24303 runners and 726 our of 3201 people in my age group. That's worse than last year but it's all about the finish.

It's such a badly organized race. I will do next year for the 100th Anniversary and that's it. The logistics blow. I did a park and ride shuttle from Emeryville to SF that would drop you off at the start and take you back at the finish. Sadly, it was a mile walk to get to the damn pick up from the finish line AND it didn't leave until noon. Which meant I was sitting there in a wet t-shirt for two and a half
hours.

The hidden costs of Bay to Breakers is insane:

Parking for Park and ride - $10
Shuttle - $22
Replacement t-shirt to not get hypothermia - $15
A runners' fanny pack (because there's no bag check in) - $20

The best costume by far were two guys dressed as homophobe and hypocrite George Rekkers and his "travel companion."

And Jersey Shore references were thick on the ground at Bay to Breakers. Case in point:

Wish me luck!

2010-05-15T14:38:00.001-04:00

Bay to Breakers is tomorrow. I am gonna kick Hayes Hill's ass!

Tip of the Week - Pizza

2010-05-12T14:47:00.002-04:00

When I was first diagnosed, I thought pizza was out. But pizza has come back to my life. The key is portion control. And as a diabetic, starch is never the center of my meal. I will have a SIDE of rice pilaf or a SIDE of mac 'n cheese (often in a tiny cast iron skillet) but no, there will not be a plate of pasta in front of me. I still eat things like polenta and grits but I make sure my plate is divided into quarters - one quarter protein, one quarter starch, two quarters veggies. No deprivation at all.

Here's the tip: Don't order delivery pizza. Go to a restaurant with friends. The more expensive the better. There's an awesome place that serves wood oven pizzas. I split one as an appetizer with three other people and I get one slice, two slices max. Pizza is never the center of my meal. And believe me, pizza with proscuitto, shaved Parmesan and asparagus -HEAVEN!

Light and Fresh

2010-05-09T20:09:00.003-04:00

I've been on the hunt lately for some new recipes, and so every once in a while I do a Google search on some of my favorite ingredients. When I put in "zucchini" recently, I got this great recipe for Feta Chicken with Zucchini.

Yum! Chicken, lemon, feta, zucchini, parsley... can't go wrong with that! The recipe is very easy, and the result is very light and tasty. It would also be perfect as a fish dish, with tilapia or another light variety.

My only caution with the recipe is to be careful with the cooking time. I had some organic chicken breasts that were HUGE, so I ended up cooking it about 10 minutes more than what is stated. Enjoy!

New Segment - Tip of the Week

2010-05-05T14:35:00.002-04:00

You know, living the lifestyle, you can take a lot of the changes for granted. That's the point isn't it? What used to be a huge effort is now a natural part of your routine. So to capture some of the ongoing things that are becoming almost subconscious, I am instituting the Tip of the Week. We're all learning something, so if you have something you've incorporated into your routine, feel free to share in the comments.

Here's my tip of the week - Restaurant Eating

When you've eaten your portion of food, put a napkin on top of your plate. I am finding my meal is DONE. Like I would totally be embarrassed if I had to unearth my food from a napkin. It also indicates to a server you are done so that the food is outta there.

What are things you all do to keep on track in restaurants?

Now we're cooking - Mustard Roasted fish

2010-05-03T13:01:00.002-04:00

Oh Ina Garten, while I hate your new show, your recipes continue to rock. This weekend I had a hankering for fish but my fish knowledge is somewhat limited. I was leafing through the Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics Cookbook and came across her Mustard Roasted Fish recipe and realized how easy it is to adapt to a low-salt/low-fat diet. The recipe requires no salt and you can easily replace the creme fraiche with low-fat sour cream. Easy.

Here's my version

1 8 oz white fish filet (like red snapper, mahi mahi, tilapia)
1/2 cup of lowfat sour cream
1 teaspoon drained capers
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon coarse grain mustard
pinch of pepper

Law the fish filet in a glass baking dish. Mix everything in a bowl. Spread on top of the fish so that hte fish is completely covered in the sour cream mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes depending on the fish and thickness. For a relatively thin, light fish like tilapia, it will be 10, for something thicker and "meatier" like mahi mahi, it will be 15.

Pretty Colors

2010-05-02T20:06:00.004-04:00

I tried two, count 'em, two new recipes today, and they both turned out pretty well! These are both from the Weight Watchers in 20 Minutes cookbook. But, don't let the title fool you... even though it may be 20 minutes of cooking time, each of these took about an hour to make including all the prep. (Note, I'm not going to share the recipes here, but you can see the basic idea and probably find them online elsewhere.)

First up, a dish called "New Orleans-Style Chicken." This involved okra, corn, tomatoes, and cajun/creole seasoning. A nice combo that ultimately ended up with a little sweet taste to it.

You know how they say healthy dishes are the most colorful dishes? Pretty.

Here I've added some fat-free half & half and letting the chicken finish...

The recipe calls for 4 servings, but I made it into 3. I doubled the amount of corn and okra for added veggie goodness, and I put about 3/4 cup white rice into each dish. I had this as a very tasty lunch today, and will have it twice again this week. Overall, I give it 3 1/2 stars.

Tonight, I decided to make the "Easy Pepper Steak." Considering I've never really liked the taste of peppers, I really have come to appreciate them as a light way to add a lot of flavor. They do get better when they're cooked. Here's the starting point -- well, after a good 20 minutes of veggie prep:

The sauce is a combo of low-fat, low-sodium beef broth, low sodium soy sauce, and corn starch.

And here are my 4 servings - one for dinner, 3 for this week, also served over about 1 cup each of white rice. I know, I should use brown and I do most of the time, but I really wanted white rice today. This is really tasty - I give it 4 stars. Yay to cooking with veggies!

10 miles ran beeyotches!!!!

2010-04-19T11:31:00.003-04:00

Goal met! Yesterday I seriously kicked my own ass and ran the Presidio 10, but this year it was the Presidio 10 MILE as opposed to 10K. And I ran it in one hour, 31 minutes and 57 seconds. To give a little perspective on how far I've come, I ran the Presidio 10K in 58 minutes and 27 seconds - a 9 minute 25 second/mile pace. This year, running a little less than four miles further, my pace increased to a speedy (hah!) 9 minute 11 second pace. Now that progress! Some other numbers for you dear readers: I placed 334 out of 714 runners and 212 out of 315 men - pretty much in the middle of the pack.

The true fun of the race is the utter beauty of running right against the rocky cliffs of Northern California. There's something about running right across the Golden Gate bridge and seeing the headlands of Marin County and the seeing the tip of San Francisco that takes your breath away. That's a good thing, because this race KICKED MY ASS. It didn't help that a few days earlier when I was doing a training run my calf cramped it at still felt tight. And the course itself kicked my ass with a 1/2 mile stretch where I was running uphill at a 45 degree angle.

This was not an easy race for me as I just felt like I had to push for most stretches, except for when I was going downhill. Like my last 10k, I totally felt as if I was just shuffling along and not really getting my stride but I am pretty impressed with my pace. Unlike other races, I was totally spent at the end, although I still managed to sprint the last 200 meters. Knowing I don't train outdoors, I knew my race pace would be much slower than what I do on the treadmill. But this was actually very close to my 9 minute mile treadmill pace.

While everyone has different motivations, I find mine to be racing. I always keep up my running knowing that my ass will be kicked on the race course if I don't keep up with my training. The other motivation is blogging about it because it is satisfying to shout to the world I RAN 10 MILES BEEYOTCHES!

I Watch to Mock - Ruby

2010-03-25T15:49:00.003-04:00

You remember when I wrote about Ruby - The Style Network show about a woman's weight loss journey. I used to watch it to see her struggles to lose weight and her life as a person of size. I knew there were fake elements - like Ruby deliberately torturing herself by going to candy stores - but there were real elements like her trying to stay on track on the indignity of not having a big enough chair to fit you.

Sadly, now I just watch the show to mock because damn if Ruby isn't nuttier than a Payday bar and the show isn't faker than Miley Cyrus' mom.

First, Ruby has bought into her own hype and thinks she is an Oprah-style role model. Ruby, Oprah was a broadcast journalist and Oscar nominated actress before anyone let her have her own tv show. STARR JONES was a prosecutor with actual knowledge of the law before she got on tv. You got on tv because you lost weight. Losing weight is a big deal and I'm sure it gives you strength and insight but PLEASE, put it in perspective. You act is if the mere fact you're on tv gives you more insight than any other person who has lost weight. It didn't. It just made you luckier.

But it hasn't made you smarter. To quote Tai from Clueless "I'm not going to take advice from a virgin who can't drive." The girls in your Girl's Fat Night have a zillion times more experience with sex and relationships than you. They seem to be able to use actual real word to discuss their health (Christmas doctor = gynecologist). They dress better than you (I know low blow but it's true). And they seems to be actively invested in their own recovery (doing the damn 12-step assignments). You can learn WITH them but don't think you have anything to teach them.

Also, everything is reality show setup. I don't believe that you and Denny have mad chemistry no matter how much your friend Georgia says you do. It's also hard to believe that were ever in a romantic relationship with Denny for eight years when he was completely harassing Jeff and his girlfriend about not having sex after three months. I don't believe all of these trips to the restaurants because you should know by now that going out requires that you develop skills to cope with not being able to eat anything on the menu. I also don't believe that Jeff is straight but that's neither here nor there.

Finally, I am so over your quest to recover your missing memories because: a) it was something so horrifying we don't need to see it on national tv; or b) it was as fake as the rest of the scenarios.

Health Care Reform - One important point

2010-03-22T16:26:00.002-04:00

As all of my facebook pals know, I have been extreme skeptical of the health care reform bill. But someone with diabetes points out how important the rule that noone with pre-existing conditions can be denied coverage OR be charged up the wazoo. Here's what this person has to say.

Bittersweet Victory

2010-03-22T11:28:00.002-04:00

So this weekend, I did a set of blood tests. You see, my blood sugar readings have been on the high end (120 - 130) and I've been worried that they have been going up. AND I've just been gaining some weight. Nothing huge, but I'm about 10 pounds over my lowest weight last year. So I've been emailing my doctor to get me back on the metformin and he said I should get a batch of blood tests done to see if it's necessary.

And the blood tests showed - I'm perfectly fine.

My overall cholesterol went down a few points. And everything in the cholesterol panel was well below normal in the "kicking ass" range.

AAAANNND - The blood glucose are fine. They are slight higher than before (103 as opposed to 100 and 5.2 as opposed to 5.1) Both in the doing very well range.

So in the end, everything is fine and what I really need to do is get my glucose meter recalibrated.

This is where our priorities lie

2010-03-15T17:40:00.003-04:00

I know First Ladies try and avoid controversy like the plague, but it's a bit disingenuous for Michelle Obama to advocate for healthier living when the federal government subsidies are so whack.

Check it out.

Carrots & Couscous, Oh My!

2010-03-14T20:09:00.003-04:00

I've been thinking a lot about my Dad lately, especially because tomorrow is his birthday. He was a really good cook, and was really happy that I was finally learning how and shared a lot of advice, recipes, and enthusiasm with me. So, this weekend I decided to pull one of the cookbooks he gave me off the shelf and give something new a try. I've been thumbing through this book of North African cooking for months, and it all looks amazing. Tonight, I made a variation of the Moroccan Carrot Salad. By adding couscous, it's become a really substantial side dish that I'll be eating all week.

The recipe starts with 1 lb of grated carrots... that was fun. Since trusty cat Cleo has an inexplicable addiction to carrots, she was very happy to get a few little pieces tossed her way.

That's a lotta carrots! You then mix the carrot with raisins, slivered or shaved almonds, olive oil, lemon juice, honey, and cinnamon. The recipe also called for rosewater, but even with Scotte's good advice I was thwarted at the grocery store - my Giant doesn't carry it. It seems fine without.

I made 1 1/2 cups of plain couscous to mix in with the finished salad. I always underestimate how much couscous really cooks up, and I ended up with a huge amount, so this will last me quite a while.

Here's the finished product, dished out in a lunch portion with a grilled pork chop. I'll look forward to that tomorrow!

This carrot salad is really tasty, sweet with rich flavors. I added in extra honey when I mixed in the couscous, which I think was a good move. This would make a great vegetarian dish and a good contribution to a pot luck sometime. I will definitely make it again. Thanks, Dad.

Speaking of Fat Jocks

2010-03-01T13:34:00.002-05:00

Yours truly ran 11 miles on Sunday in preparation for my 10-mile race in April. I'm still recovering from the run but still, I'm taking names and kicking ass.

This is what an athlete looks like

2010-03-01T13:00:00.004-05:00

So this guy won an Olympic Gold medal on Friday in bobsledding. He won a medal that the U.S. hadn't won in 62 years and for those of us who like our men on the solid side, he's total eye candy.

His victory really shows how much we need to change our cultural lexicon when it comes to the image of health because it's a guarantee that his BMI would put him in the "overweight" category. Think about it, there are tons of football linemen, shot putters and wrestlers who are built like trucks. They trainer for horus every day and are in peak physical condition, but if most of us close our eyes, someone who looks like this:

isn't what we would picture. Both these people are Olympic Gold Medalists. Both train like mofos and are in peak physical condition. Both are healthy. And both would be labels as overweight. What is wrong with this picture? And it's not the two hotties in the pictures.

Others have said it better...

2010-02-12T17:01:00.002-05:00

So Michelle Obama has unveiled an anti-obesity campaign. Salon's Broadsheet capture pretty much everything I would say about it.

I would add to it that the entire framing of "anti-obesity" already gets this program off to a bad start. Because fighting "obesity" is part and parcel with shaming "obese people." Our size is a body trait. Potentially changeable but a body trait nonetheless. Waging a campaign against the way many, if not a majority of Americans, look is pretty problematic.

That's why when Stef and I started this blog, it would be about the stuff we do not the way we look. This is not a blog about our shame on the way we look. The way I look may or may not be the result of what I do but what's important is the what I do part. Is it no less of a victory that I've been more conscious about what I put into my body and taken more control of my body in terms of exercise if I didn't lose a single pound?

Rather than waging a campaign against something, how about waging a campaign FOR something. Because once you get over that awful anti-obesity frame, the campaign makes sense. It's about not being sedentary and eating a variety of foods that are home cooked. It's about increasing access to healthy foods. All good things that could be packaged as healthy and active living as opposed to anti-obesity.

P.S. Where the campaign does go far enough is the access. While it would suck for monsanto, what about increasing subsidies for organic produce and small farmers? It wouldn't cost a damn thing if you took away 10% of what you give to industrial agriculture.

Thank Goodness for Diabetes

2010-02-08T22:32:00.002-05:00

So I was in Minneapolis this week for work and I was sitting at a coffeehouse with my co-worker. I notice the man sitting next to me was really out of it and sweating profusely. In Minnesota. In the dead of winter. Then I noticed something - his blood glucose meter. Everything clicked and I realized the man was severely hypoglycemic.

I asked him if he needed something to eat and he said he was fine. Then everyone around him was asking him if he needed help and he insisted he was fine. My co-worker and i talked about what to do because we could both tell he was not doing well at all. My co-worker then wen to the coffeehouse staff and asked if they could check in on the man. While he was talking to the staff, two women sitting near the counter overheard and came with the management to ask the man for help. As it turned, out the women were nurses and insisted on helping out man.

While they were getting the man to drink orange juice, they asked me to check the man's blood glucose since I knew how to use the glucose meter. His reading was a scary ass 36. That is literally Shelby in a coma territory. Thank god the nurses knew how to be insistent.

In the end, the paramedics were called and they came and monitored the man's blood sugar as he drank more juice and ate a few brownies. After an hour, the man alert and able to take care of himself. When the EMT checked his blood sugar is was 140 so he was fine.

I have never been so grateful to be diabetic and be able to spot hypoglycemia. It's a blessing to have gone through extensive training on living with diabetes (however problematic) and get the support I did to understand the disease.

Thank goodness for my disease and hte knowledge it gave me.

Building up to 9 miles

2010-02-02T15:53:00.000-05:00

To the commenter who asked about how whether I was on a program to build up to running nine miles – yes and no. About a month ago, I told my sister’s boyfriend that I would be stepping up and running the Presidio 10 as a 10 mile race as opposed to a 10K. He emailed me a running schedule and training program for the weeks leading up to it and I’ve been doing that program for the last three weeks.

But here’s what led up to that. Before I say anything else, I need to point out I have a long history with exercise. I’ve always ran and was on the track team in high school. In fact, I was an aerobics instructor in college. As an aside, my classes always had waiting lists because both women and men thought I was great to learn from. For the women, they liked not having to compare their bodies to the person teaching them and for the men, they wanted to see a dude aerobics. This is all to say exercise and I have been old friends. I’ve run 5k’s and 10k’s my whole life.

Once I graduated from college, not having a sport to compete in or a class to teach meant that I would go on this binge-purge cycle of exercise. Running a lot for a month but then slacking off for a week which led to slacking off for a month. With the diabetes diagnosis, I had a huge incentive to exercise regularly – eating what I wanted. As I’ve said before, exercise lower your blood glucose level so exercising after eating means that you have a little more leeway about what you eat. Also, when I was losing weight, my nutritionist told me not to be concern about the fat in my diet since it was being burned off during exercise. Exercise = eating bacon. A win win proposition.

Here’s the progression:
A year and a half ago after the diagnosis, I ran four times a week on the treadmill for three miles per session. I was doing a 10 minute/mile pace.

After about three months, I increased my speed to about a 9:30 minute/mile pace and made one of the runs a four mile run at a 10 minute/mile pace.

The following month, I increased one of my slow runs to 5 miles.

When I ran my first 5 mile race in January 2009 and did great, I increased my short runs to 4 miles and increase my pace to 9:15 minute/mile.

Upon committing to do Bay to Breakers (12k or 7.4 miles), I upped my long run to 6 miles for a month and then to 7.5.

After Bay to Breakers, 9 months after the diagnosis, I reduced the number of runs to three per week but with increased intensity – a 9 minute/mile pace.

During the summer, with no race in the near future, I increased my short runs to 5 miles at the same pace and omitted the long run (just made it another 5 miles)

When I made my commitment to run Bay to Breakers AND do Presidio 10 as a 10 miler, I reintroduced the long run of 7 miles but would only do that twice a month.

And that leads us to this point where I am doing a set training program leading up to 10 miles.

Milestone acheived!

2010-02-01T13:51:00.002-05:00

Sunday, I ran 9 miles - the furthest I ever ran in my life. It kicked my ass and I learned that I do need to start slow because the last two miles I was running at a 10 minute mile pace. My own impatience got to me and I really just wanted the run to be over. Lesson learned and I look forward to running the full 10 miles. The challenge is to do it slowly.

Dear God, Whole Foods

2010-01-27T16:26:00.003-05:00

Seems like Whole Foods is getting on the fat shaming bandwagon. Check it. Y'all know how much i think BMI is a load of crap as a health measure, but this is some seriously effed up thinking. If you do buy the idea that we should encourage more people to eat healthier, should you offer the discounts to the people with HIGHER BMIs so that they take advantage of the all of those fruits and vegetables?

And interesting post on Pandagon

2010-01-26T18:36:00.003-05:00

So I just read this post on Pandagon, a feminist, political website. It brings up two really good points.

1. BMI sucks and as an indicator of health. I have a cousin who is 6 feet and thin as a rail. I can run circles around him and my BMI is a zillion times more than his. My sister's boyfriend's BMI is a zillion times bigger than his - my sister's boyfriend IS A TRIATHELETE.

2. All of this fear on women "bulking up" is based on misogynist ideas that women should be frail and weak. My question for you readers of the female persuasion is - do you do weight training? Why or why not. I personally do the absolute minimum of weight training mainly because I find it boring and I cannot stare at the tv while I'm doing it.

Don't Cry for Me Stef...

2010-01-25T15:28:00.004-05:00

I get to eat plenty of sweets. Ever since I've gotten over my fear of Splenda and learned about almond flour, the sweet are pretty plentiful in my household. Given the fact I am replacing flour for ground almonds, the fat content will be high, but that's why I run 18 miles a week.

But here's my list of sweet stuff:

Fruit cobblers
Pavlovas
Brownies
Peanut butter cookies
Dark chocolate
sugar free ice cream
almond flour pancakes
Hot chocolate with almond milk and splenda (and a shot of sugar free hazelnut syrup)

All of them are less than 15 grams of carbs and taste pretty awesome. In fact, the sugar free pancakes are 1 gram of carbs per pancake. I can only eat five before I'm full.

Here's a recipe for the pancakes
Ingredients:

* 1 cup almond flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 2 eggs
* 1/4 cup water (for puffier pancakes, you can use sparkling water)
* 1 tablespoons oil
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 tablespoon sweetener
* 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

Preparation:
Mix ingredients together and cook as you would other pancakes. I like to use a nonstick pan with a little oil. The only real difference is that they won't "bubble" on top the same way as regular pancakes. Flip them when the underside is brown. Serve with sugar free maple syrup.

More Cooking with Veggies

2010-01-24T19:24:00.003-05:00

I'm still experimenting with new ways to use veggies, and/or using new veggies in my usual ways.

I tried this great recipe for a creamy celery soup. I'm loving pureed soups lately, and this one is really yummy. It's the surprisingly great combo of celery and thyme, and I even used dried thyme. The potatoes give the soup the creamy consistency, so it tastes much richer than it is since it has no actual cream in it. Yum! Great frozen and reheated, too.

And here's just a variation on the usual, but I thought it looked pretty with all that green in the pan. It's chicken stir fry with baby bok choy, which I served over brown rice.

Salt and Public Policy

2010-01-23T13:47:00.001-05:00

The research and debates continue....

Health / Fitness & Nutrition
Big Benefits Are Seen From Eating Less Salt
By PAM BELLUCK
Published: January 21, 2010
Scientists writing in The New England Journal of Medicine conclude that lowering the amount of salt people eat by even a small amount could reduce cases of heart disease, stroke and heart attacks.

Sweet Heaven

2010-01-21T19:34:00.002-05:00

Sorry co-blogger, this one's gonna be all about the sweetness....

I can always tell when I'm about 2-3 weeks into healthy eating, cuz that's when I start to crave things like cookies, cake, ice cream, etc. I don't normally have a huge sweet tooth, but if you put it in front of me I'll eat it. And when I'm focusing more on veggies, fruit, lean proteins, and fiber - well, my brain starts thinking "Dooooooooonnnnnnuuuuuuuuttttttttttttttt."

Anyway, I decided tonight to try and curb my craving with something I could whip up from the pantry. And although the result is not *totally* guilt-free, I have to say this is one of the awesomest things I've ever made.

Breakfast, it's what's for dinner. In the form of CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA PANCAKES.

Oh, dear Lord. I want to lick the plate. Reduced fat "Heart Smart" Bisquick. Non-fat organic milk. Egg beaters. Sugar Free Maple Syrup. Low-fat butter. One banana. About 20 semi-sweet chocolate chips. Two pancakes. One giant smile on my face.

Cravings begone!

The conundrum

2010-01-20T15:10:00.003-05:00

I am totally grateful for this blog because it does keep me focused on what I need to focus on. Case in point, since I've gone off the medication to control my blood sugar I've gained about 8 pounds and gone up a pants size. I talked with my doctor about it and he said that a beneficial side effect of the metformin is that it facilitates weight loss.

I've been at the same weight for two months so it's not like I'm blowing up. And on every other measure I am rocking.

- My cholesterol, A1C, and urine scores are actually better than when I was at my lowest weight

- I've increased my running from two 3-mile runs and a 5-mile run to to two 5-mile runs and a 7.5 mile run.

- My speed in the races improved dramatically.

So everything is going well BUT I was damn tempted to ask for some drugs to get the weight off. It's a conundrum. I need to celebrate that my body does well enough on its own (as along as I do the things I need to). The flip side is that I am pretty damn tempted to get back on drugs I don't need just to lose a few pounds.

Now where was that forest again?

It's Working

2010-01-18T08:37:00.003-05:00

It is nice to be reminded that you DO know how to do this, and all it takes is just DOING IT.

I've been paying more attention to my diet as my New Year's resolution, cutting out all the pre-holiday treats (goodbye cookie dough) and keeping my food journal regularly. I'm making the most of my produce delivery and making lots of veggie-rich meals and fruit-based snacks. I'm trying to drink more water -- though I always need to do better on that. I'm not starving myself - I've even eaten out many times - but I'm trying to eat better things.

And, it's working. In 18 days, I've lost 7.8 pounds. Hooray!!! I know how to do this.

Now, at some point, I'm going to have to confront my nemesis.... exercise. Grumble.

Cheap and Easy in the Kitchen

2010-01-16T13:30:00.004-05:00

I just got back from a great cooking demonstration class. (Thank you, Groupon!)

Personal chef Zan Dial of Nova Personal Chef taught us how to cook 3 of the recipes from his upcoming book Cheap and Easy in the Kitchen. His whole idea is to share tips on cooking meals for a family of 4 for a week for under $100. He gave us all 7 recipes from the book, so I've got lots of stuff to try. (I'm not going to reproduce the recipes here, out of respect for his upcoming book. I will post in the future if I make my own variations on them.)

In the demo, he made - and we sampled:

- Shrimp Creole - This was delicious and had great heat to it. I loved it with the shrimp, and he said it can be made with chicken, scallops, or white fish too. I asked about reheating, and he recommended that it would be better to make it with chicken for a meal to eat all week, since microwaving shrimp is NOT a good thing. I will definitely make this.

- Baked Ziti - A good simple recipe, with a great basic tomato sauce that I loved. It's got the usual, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, basil, onion, and garlic plus a little sugar to cut the acidity. His recipe can be made with or without meat, and it also would be a great meal to make once and eat leftovers for a few days.

- Braised Beef with Root Vegetables - OMG this was delicious. What a great reminder of how awesome beef is when braised in red wine. :-) This is similar to my beef stew recipe, just slow cooked either in a crock pot or on a stove top. I need to start adding wine to my stew, cuz it just makes it out of this world.

In addition, we got recipes for:
- Penne with Vodka Tomato Sauce
- Pasta Primavera with Chicken
- Grilled Flank Steak and Red Peppers
- Beef or Chicken Kabobs with Cucumber Salad

I will most likely be buying the book when it comes out, cuz these recipes are all pretty easy for a beginning cook. Zan also has a weekly email list where he shares new recipes - you could probably email him (at the address in the comments) to be added yourself.

Caitlin Flanagan = Asshole

2010-01-14T14:15:00.002-05:00

So Caitlin Flanagan wrote an article in the Atlantic criticizing Alice Waters Edible Schoolyard. While I have plenty of criticisms of the Alice Waters/Michael Pollan crowd, I can only point my finger at Ms. Flanagan and yell - douchebag! First of all, Caitlin Flanagan is the same "journalist" who decided to excoriate feminists with nannies in the selfsame pages of the Atlantic in 2003. This lady who is pretty damn surrounded with rich privileged white folks gets to sit on her high horse and feel sorry for those brown people who take care of rich folks kids.

This time around she feels sorry for those brown people's kids who are forced to pick organic vegetables as part of the school curriculum. Rich white lady worries about those poor brown folks whose education are getting shortchanged because they have to learn about vegetables. "Will this help them pass Algebra?" she asks.

Here's the thing. The HUGE criticism about No Child Left Behind is that it focuses too much on test scores. Those "fluffy" subjects like art and sports and anything that isn't covered on a scan tron teach skills that are really necessary in the working world - cooperation, problem solving etc. None of which will be measured on a scan tron. Same with raising organic vegetables. You learn a whole lot of biology gardening. As a quilter, I've had to use the Pythagorean theorem more in a month of designing a quilt than in a semester's worth of geometry.

On top of that, there is tons and tons of research that shows that eating well balanced meals and BREAKFAST boosts brain capacity and helps with test scores. Watch Supersize Me to see a real life example. These types of programs have a huge impact on classroom performance even if there isn't a direct correlation to test scores.

For all of her concerns about these poor brown children, she really does seem to advocate for shortchanging their education. So shut it Flanagan.

Since we're comfort cooking...

2010-01-11T15:45:00.002-05:00

Friday night I really wanted a comfort meal. I already had a cauliflower mash on hand and J defrosted some turkey cutlets to sear but I needed another vegetable. With a bag of frozen spinach, I decided to make creamed spinach but low carb and low fat. It was SOOOOOO good. I mean warm and delicious and gooey. Perfect for a cold night. The key with creamy stuff is to use sharp cheeses instead of mild cheeses. That lowers the fat content but keeps the flavor. Also this recipe has no cream or even flour for a roux.

Here's my recipe.

1 onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of EVOO
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 12 oz package of frozen spinach
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons lowfat or nonfat sour cream
salt to taste

Saute the onion and garlic in the evoo with the nutmeg and pepper (it's good to add the spices early to bring out their flavor) for about five minutes until the onions are translucent. Add the frozen spinach and cook until the spinach is unfrozen. Obviously, you can defrost earlier but it's just as easy to just dump it in and then break it up as it cooks in the pan. When all of the spinach is unfrozen, ass the cheese and sour cream. Let simmer for about 15 minutes. Add salt and more pepper to taste.

Health-ifying Restaurant Food

2010-01-10T22:46:00.003-05:00

I know a lot of people are against the idea of a "mommy state" politically, but I am all in favor of this kind of government reform. I know just how hard it is to battle obesity and lifestyle diseases. I'll take all the help anyone wants to offer. Here's a NYT article about a new NYC voluntary plan to make restaurant food hold the salt:

Business
New York Seeks National Effort to Curtail Salt Use
By WILLIAM NEUMAN
Published: January 11, 2010
The broad new health initiative sets a goal of reducing the salt in packaged and restaurant food by 25 percent over the next five years.

Comfort Cooking

2010-01-10T19:52:00.002-05:00

Oh, the weather outside is frightful... but spending the weekends in the kitchen has been a good way for me to stay warm! I've made a couple of low-fat comfort food recipes the last 2 weekends that have been great as dinners and lunches all week.

Tonight I made a good old chicken pot pie. YUM. This low-fat recipe was pretty easy. (Laura, this one is perfect for you!) I used a bigger pan and doubled the veggies, so I did 1.5x the topping mixture, too. The cooking time was off, I ended up going another 20 min in 5 minute intervals just to get this good golden crust. It's mighty tasty!

If you're a fan of those frozen, sodium/fat/preservative-laden pot pies you can get at the store, trust me. This is WAY better.

Last week, I made this cheesy rice and broccoli casserole. Again,it was a very simple recipe, though it required a few pots to cook the rice, steam the broccoli, etc. I prefer one-pot dishes, but that's okay.

I think I ended up using too much rice, cuz I did 2 cups UNcooked... it probably meant 2 cups cooked. This did dry out a little bit, so I should've used more of the soup or chicken broth. But it still tasted good for lunch 5 days later, so that's a winner too!

Who Needs Takeout?

2010-01-04T19:37:00.003-05:00

Seriously, who needs it? With just a little bit of work in the kitchen, that I've really grown to enjoy, I can make my own Asian-style dinners that are way tastier and much healthier than anything I can get from the Chinese delivery place. You can control what goes into the dish (ie less sodium and fat) and tweak it to your particular tastes. It's so much better!

For example, I make a pretty darn good beef stir fry at this point. I buy top round steaks and trim them myself into small strips. Then, in a frying pan... some olive oil, some thin-sliced green onions (scallions), some low sodium soy sauce... sautee the beef strips, add in some ginger (I use dried from the spice rack), and then add in a veggie. I love sugar snap peas, just from the frozen food section. In about 10 minutes, it's all done and it's delicious. I don't even serve a carb with it.

Tonight, I wanted to use some of the Annie Chun's stuff I bought at the cooking show with Onyah a few months back. So I did a similar routine -- this time with regular diced onion and olive oil, trimmed pork strips, broccoli, and the Annie Chun's Korean Barbecue sauce. Then I served it over one of their rice express dishes of microwaveable sticky rice (no fat, no sodium). It's delicious! Tangy, flavorful, and none of that oily aftertaste that always makes me regret ordering from a delivery place.

Now.... I will still get Indian takeout, cuz I'm not quite up to cooking chicken tikka masala or vindaloo at home yet. But I might as well throw away all those Chinese food delivery menus. :-)

Skills Gained in 2009

2010-01-04T12:25:00.002-05:00

In Keep with the Itsalifestyle theme, rather than talking numbers for my 2009 recap, I'll give you a list of the skills I've gained. Because weight can be gained or lost but knowledge is forever.

Food
1. How to count carbs and track my eating
2. How to eat regularly (especially good because you don't want to make entries if your food log twelve times a day)
3. Portion sizes
4. How to cook with almond flour and splenda
5. How to accept Splenda as a part of my life.
6. How to roast beets (Beets, goat cheese and walnuts with a dash of Balsamic - eating good!
7. How to order something at fast food places without a zillion grams of carbs
8. Avoiding smoothies

Exercise
1. How not to overdo it - don't do cardio two days in a row
2. The importance of strength training including all of that abs work
3. How to run a race and make sure I have energy at the end (now I am working on the middle)
4. Having a net game in tennis
5. How to exercise while traveling
6. Lower back stretches

Cooking for One

2010-01-01T20:19:00.002-05:00

I love this article from NPR...

Cooking for One: A Privilege, Not a Chore

And the recipes look divine. I'm going to have to try that tomato-zucchini bake sometime.

It's a New Year

2010-01-01T08:08:00.002-05:00

As Shakira says, "hips don't lie" and mine are saying it's time to cut out the cookies and the chips. Yeesh.

As a New Year's tradition, I stepped on the scale this morning to see where my resolutions will start. It was not a happy moment. As expected, I am now at my NEW highest weight ever. Yikes. I knew it was happening, and I really have given myself a sort of psychological pass over the last 6 months to not be too hard on myself while I've been adjusting to the "new normal" in my family and emotional life.

But, a psychological pass doesn't equal a biological pass. And I haven't been feeling good - I know I've gained weight and fallen even more out of shape.

So as long planned, I got myself through the holidays (I even did work out one day at the Holiday Inn when we visited my home town) and I'm now recommitting to the whole healthy lifestyle effort. I'll say it again, what my co-blogger and I strongly believe, it's NOT a diet. It's a way of life. That way of life includes going back to journaling my food and exercise (well, it includes actual exercise too), it includes more consistent cooking, and paying more attention to myself and my choices. I want to get back to following my nutritionist's advice for a low sodium, low fat diet, and I know that this works. I just have to do it.

So, that's my New Year's resolution - to get back to that good place of healthy cooking, eating, and moving that I found last year. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

My New Year's Experiment

2009-12-31T19:38:00.004-05:00

Since I'm spending this NYE on my own at home, after just getting home from my holiday travels last night, I wanted to make myself a fun dinner to celebrate. Well, the Giant had a terrible selection of steaks, so I headed over to the seafood counter. On an impulse, I decided to pick up 2 catfish fillets. I don't know if I've ever had catfish before, but I thought this would be a fun night to try.

So I consulted the Internets and found some pointers on how to cook it. I used this recipe for a low-fat oven-fry as my base, but since I didn't have any of the specific spice mixes mentioned here or recommended by friends I made my own blend based on Google's advice.

I used:
- about 1 cup of flour
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon celery salt

I had all these spices in my pantry, since Dad was always good at supplying me with any spice you might imagine. I really like making my own little blends and using some of those up, and the bonus was that as the fish was cooking in the oven, these spices smelled FANTASTIC.

Important tip: I skipped the no-stick spray step since I was using foil. Bad move. Definitely spray the pan/foil cuz the breading sticks.

The result? Pretty good! It's very messy, because of the sticking problem, and I think I would use less flour in the future to get a better balance in the breading. But the seasoning is tasty and the fish is substantial and yummy. I'm eating it with a side of a Green Giant lowfat broccoli and cheese thing, and it's a pretty darn successful dinner!

It's the little things - Yoga mat

2009-12-30T13:56:00.002-05:00

My exercise life just got a zillion times easier. On Sunday, when my sister and I were at Target, she chose a yoga mat for me. We were talking and I said it was a pain having hardwood floors because you couldn't do sit ups on them. She recommended a yoga and mat when we were at Target doing errands, she pointed out the one she uses. So this $10 invest has totally changed my workouts. I am back to my pre-move schedule of doing my sit ups and push ups at home and my cardio at the gym. It's made life SOOOO much easier because its shaved 20 minutes off of my gym workout. That's huge!

Another Great Thing About Cooking

2009-12-20T21:10:00.002-05:00

Here's another great thing I've learned in the last year or so of cooking more... Cooking is social. Sure, I am cooking by myself in my apartment most of the time, but I'm finding there are many ways to build community around cooking.

This new hobby of mine is a great new topic of conversation and yet another way to bond with people. It was a perfect subject for me and Dad to bond over in those last few months, and I'll treasure that forever.

Friends are a wealth of information, with cooking tips, recipes, and lessons learned to share. I myself have handed out several of my favorite recipes to friends of mine in the last few weeks, and it feels great to be able to be a resource on something that's still fairly new to my life, too. Facebook and its instant community have been great for that, as now I'm trading recipes and ideas with people I've known in every stage of my life.

And, cooking can add to your social life. I'm taking 2 more new classes in the New Year, and having a shared interest is an immediate ice breaker in a room full of strangers gathered to learn together.

There's so much more to cooking than just tasty things on a plate... but that's nice too!

Easy and Elegant weeknight dinner

2009-12-18T13:32:00.000-05:00

So B, our favorite restaurant serves these awesome California style pizzas. V, our favorite server always makes a recommendation to add arugula and a fried egg on top of their mushroom pizza and truly it's sheer heaven. Being diabetic, I can only have one slice, although I totally poach more than my share of yolky arugula.

Color be delighted when J found an Alsatian tart with bacon and caramelized onions at Trader Joes. For some magical happenstance, there's only 11 grams of carbs for 1/4 of a decent size tart (bigger than a personal pan pizza). That means I can eat the whole damn things and only ingest 44 grams of carbs. Now with bacon and cheese and onions the fat content is off the charts but that's why I run 18 miles a week.

As an experiment this weekend, I decided to top the tart with arugula and a fried egg. My twist was to toss the arugula in a meyer lemon vinaigrette. And OH MY GOD. Arugula salad and Alsatian tart is a better flavor combination of chocolate and peanut butter. The sharp pepperiness of the arugula and the tang of the vinaigrette are in perfect harmony with the salty sweetness of the tart. I've had this twice this week and could have it every night if I had my druthers. This is a total cheap eat because the tart is like $3.99 and the arugula is like $2.99.

And the Meyer lemons come from my tree.

crossposted at: bayareafoodblog.wordpress.com

Sunday Squash

2009-12-13T16:06:00.003-05:00

Another rainy pj's Sunday.... another good day to explore my new veggie options courtesy of my friends at Washington's Green Grocer.

Today, it was time for a new butternut squash adventure. My friend Jane Austen had sent me this awesome recipe for Butternut Squash Sage Orzo, and it looked so divine online I had to have it for myself.

This stuff is delicious! I agree with the blogger that it would make a great Thanksgiving side, or a side to any good turkey dinner, though it tastes just fine as a dish on its own. Try it!

Here's my diced squash. It came from a squash a little shorter and much squatter than the one remaining. I guessed it's about 4 cups or a little more... that bowl holds 4 cups of liquid. Close enough.

The squash making nice in the pan with onions and garlic. This is before I added the wine and the broth. Note, I used lowfat/low sodium chicken broth rather than veggie, cuz I have a ton of it. Worked great.

Mmmm sage.

Here it is! This is the whole bowl, that I spooned out into 3 large servings for lunches. It was delicious! Warm, comforting, with a little tang from the parmesan. I didn't use salt and I forgot to add pepper, but it was seasoned enough for me with the sage, parmesan, and onions/garlic/wine. So tasty.

Media Fail

2009-12-09T14:25:00.002-05:00

New York Magazine has some major fat hatred. You see, I think it's a great idea for cities to offer free gym classes. If we want healthy choices to be accessible, this is a great way to do it. But New York magazine blows it big time by tying it to fatness. Healthy living isn't necessarily a war on fatness. Nowhere did Mayor Bloomberg say that this was to address obesity. After all, will you refuse someone with a "normal" or "below normal" BMI from attending one of those free classes? Across the board, people in the U.S. need to exercise more - fat or thin. Stop hating on fat people.

Giving Thanks for Running

2009-12-04T13:19:00.002-05:00

The theme for this Thanksgiving should be the Olympian - stronger! higher! faster! because I ran my ass off that weekend. Along with eating a truckload of food.

Eating
On the eating side of things, I did a sorta stupid/sorta smart thing - I barely ate anything leading up to Thanksgiving dinner. You see, I would be having real food professionals over for Thanksgiving. We picked up a maple and rosemary-brined turkey from Cheffie Mark. We would be having a cheese plate selected by the cheesemonger at the wine bar where Bellisima works. And a trio of soup shooters. And that's before we even sit down for dinner. So leading up to the big meal (and I mean BIG meal), I ate a grand total of 30 grams of carbs. 15 grams from a roasted pepper frittata and 15 from an apple. I also had a salad during the day. While I am sure it was playing havoc with my body and my metabolism, I wanted to eat my Thanksgiving meal with abandon. And I did. It was spread out over the course of six hours and all of it was delicious. The great thing about this meal (where we had a summit to plan the menu!) was that we all floated in an out of the kitchen. Noone was slaving over anything because we all contributed.

So yes, we started with the cheese and pate (homemade!) platter with onion jam, fig and raison compete and a red currant gelee. That was followed by soup shooters of tomato soup with a quark dollop, beet and carrot soup with a coriander sour cream, and a cauliflower soup with a bagna cauda drizzle. And then everything settled in our stomachs and we were already full. But we plowed on to eat mashed potatoes, mashed acorn squash, the aforementioned turkey, green beans, homemade rolls, and a kale and sweet potato casserole. We sent everyone home with dessert bags because noone could touch the pumpkin tarts or the apple cobblers. We spent the post dinner part of Thanksgiving nibbling on J's homemade truffles and cheese and pears.

The great thing about this was the bounty of vegetable dishes and the fact that J made truffles with dark chocolate which are intrinsically low-carb (although high fat). by the next morning my glucose level was a surprisingly low 97.

Running

Thanksgiving weekend also entail a good amount of running. On Thanksgiving day, Muffin and June actually found out about a 5K that was within walking distance of our house. It was a great way to start the day. This was a totally informal race set up my a neighborhood gym. No big clock or starting gun. To keep my ankles and knees ok, I run on a gym treadmill. It was definitely different (and more exhausting run on cold, hard concrete. And definitely exhausting to run uphill for a quarter of the race. But all in all, I ran strong and had a good time.

The Sunday after Thanksgiving, I ran the Run Wild for a Child race in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. It was very interesting to run because I thought there were part where I was running pretty slowly. But in the end I ran the entire 6.2 miles in 51:41 minutes which is an 8:19 minute pace. This is well ahead of the 9:11 pace I ran for the Presidio 10K in March. Yay me! It's interesting to see how much I hate running up hills and how badly I am about gauging my pace.

I'm very Thankful I have this disease under control and am I very thankful I am in a position to get stronger, higher and faster. And, of course, thanks to all of you out there, especialyl stef, who's been an invaluable sounding board.

The Biggest Loser - Health?

2009-11-25T22:33:00.001-05:00

An interesting article from the NYT on the "dark side" of the show and some of their techniques:

Business / Media & Advertising
On ‘The Biggest Loser,’ Health Can Take Back Seat
By EDWARD WYATT
Published: November 25, 2009
Some contestants of NBC’s “The Biggest Loser” say that dangerous weight-loss techniques are common.

Side note: Is anyone else a little skeezed out by the huge merchandise machine TBL has become?

The Exercise Thing - I Need goals

2009-11-17T18:29:00.002-05:00

So I've put my foot off the pedal when it comes to exercise. I haven't gone off the wagon but I have definitely cut back. Now I am running three times a week for at least 5 miles per workout with the occasional 7 mile run when I feel like it. Much less than the four items a week with the 7 mile run. And I definitely cut back on the strength training from at least twice a week to once a week if I'm lucky.

I think I need a bit of a rededication. So first of all, I am running a 10K the Sunday after Thanksgiving. The goal is to run it in a 9 1/2 minute/mile pace. The next goal is to do the Presido 10 but this time run the 10 miler as opposed to the 10k. If any of you are distance runners, how do you make the time to do an actual ten mile training run? That's over an hour and a half and if you're old and creaky like me, that is about 2 1/2 hours of working out when you include the stretching a cool down. And yes, next year I will do Bay to Breakers in costume. Any suggestions?

Media Literacy - Get Edumacated

2009-11-16T17:36:00.002-05:00

Dealing with a chronic disease you get a lot of information throw at you. Most of it bad. With diabetes, I've certainly had to sift through a huge amount of misinformation. Or I should say misinformation about what works for me. For example, going to the American Diabetes Association message boards, you would think we were all confined to lives on the Atkins diet. That is effective for some people. Not good for me. I got plenty of bad misinformation from my primary care doctor who told me to reduce my morning blood sugar level, I should eat less carbs. As it turns out (and a piece of info I got from my dietician Aunt), my blood sugar level went down when I had a snack just before going to sleep.

It's particularly depressing when you try any journalism piece, whether written on televised, about health. They are, for the most part, utter crap. You see, the news media defines news and something that's new and different. That mostly means letting us know when things aren't working. It's not news when something that is designed to work actually does work. Let's look at sex. There's tons and tons of stories about teens going nuts on the oral sex and the sexting and the pregnancies. But the actual research shows that sex ed and contraception works and that teen pregnancy rates have gone down over the last 20 years. Check it http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_ATSRH.html. But hey, let's not let the facts get in the way of a good story.

In regards to reporting on health, it's suckers harder than a dyson vacuum. Seriously, a completely untested bra that purports to prevent breast cancer is news? As someone who is an avid media consumer (because I BLOG!), I got all happy inside to stumble on this site. They are a group of smarty mcsmartersons who review articles on health for accuracy and quality of reporting. I could spend all day on it if my work would let me. But reading through the reviews, you begin to get skills about what to look for in a health article. I'd highly recommend it.

For example, here's a list of seven words that shouldn't be used in medical news:

Years ago, the publisher of this site wrote an essay with the above title. The words were:
• Cure
• Miracle
• Breakthrough
• Promising
• Dramatic
• Hope
• Victim

BTW, they decided to stop reviewing television health stories because they blow.

Special Delivery

2009-11-12T20:23:00.002-05:00

I'm really happy with my Washington's Green Grocer deliveries. I just got my 2nd delivery of the "small organic box" of produce - for only $36.50, delivered to my door. It's so worth it! Tonight I got a head of red butter lettuce, spinach, 2 giant yams, Granny Smith apples, pears, bananas, red grapes, green beans, 2 carnival squash, and a whole golden pineapple.

So what does home delivery of organic produce mean?

It means that I'm learning a lot and trying new things. In the last 2 weeks, I've seen, peeled, roasted, and cooked my first parsnips. I made homemade apple sauce. I learned how to peel and dice a butternut squash. I have made and frozen THREE homemade soups.

My kitchen looks totally different than it did a year ago. I now have a big bowl of fresh fruit on the counter, next to squash and an actual pineapple. My fridge is filled with bright green, red, and yellow things. My freezer is filled with bags of veggies and containers of soups and sauces. And everything tastes GOOD.

Fun!

Torta in a jar

2009-11-09T14:45:00.002-05:00

One of the great things about co-blogging is that you get inspiration from your co-blogger. I've been long making Stef's muffin tin fritattas because they are easy and good. This past Saturday, J and I went to our local Italian deli for one of their overstuffed sandwiches and saw their artichoke torta. Given that the lowfat fritatta is a consistent hit, could I make a torta version? The answer is hells yeah! On the plus side, it's ridiculously easy. Like cake from a mix easy. Here's how I did it:

1 16oz can of artichoke hearts
1 16 oz jar of roasted peppers
1 8 oz jar of sliced olives
8 beaten eggs (or the egg beater equivalent thereof)
1 cup of lowfat shredded cheese (really it can be anything but cheddar or feta work great)
1/2 cup of milk or milk substitute (I used almond milk and it turned out excellent)
1/4 cup of flour
Pepper to taste (no need for salt)

Stick the artichokes, peppers and olives in a mixing bowl and use kitchen shears or scissors you don't care about to chop them up into bite sized pieces. Dump in the remaining ingredients and mix well. We made it like a crustless quiche and baked it in a pie plate at 350 degrees for an hour. If you want to do it in mini muffin tins it would probably take about 20 minutes.

Check it - This is what healthy living looks like

2009-11-03T18:35:00.003-05:00

One of the great things about living in the bay areas is the plethora of outdoor activities that are within 15 minutes of our urban centers. In the East Bay we're lucky enough to have the Oakland a Berkeley hills and skyline drive that follows them. It was a gorgeous Sunday and I wanted to give Kaya some exercise. As it turned out we both got a lot of exercise along with breathtaking views of the San Francisco Bay. It was nice to do a strenuous hike where our wonder dog could climb steep hills and jump over fallen logs. And she was an angel Sunday night.

Kitchen Updates

2009-10-31T13:51:00.002-04:00

I have been cooking a lot lately, blogging not so much... but here's some fun stuff for this weekend.

I signed up for home delivery of organic produce from Washington's Green Grocer. I'm very excited about this! Here's my first week's haul... romaine lettuce, apples, bananas, oranges, pears, yellow squash, russet potatoes, parsnips, green beans and butternut squash. I plan to have a good time experimenting with things... like trying a roasted parsnip and pear soup tomorrow, hopefully. Plus I plan to make my first beef stew, hooray!

This afternoon I tried another new recipe - Arroz Con Pollo.

This was originally for a crock pot, and used chicken pieces, but I made it with cubed chicken tenders and cooked it in a big soup pot on the stove instead.

1 lb chicken, cubed
1 can Italian-style stewed tomatoes (or no salt added)
1 jar roasted red peppers, drained (slice into strips if you want, but I left them whole)
1 cup chicken broth (low sodium, low fat preferably)
1 bag frozen peas
1 package Spanish-style yellow rice with seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder or garlic salt

First I browned the chicken in a little olive oil in the soup pot. I added about 1/2 onion, diced, as well, and 1 tsp black pepper.

Then add all ingredients, bring to a boil, and let simmer. Stir often. It took about an hour for the rice to cook and plump up and absorb most of the liquid. Tasty.

Here it is cooking:

And here it is dished up for lunches:

The Plant Challenge

2009-10-29T14:16:00.004-04:00

So this past week I tried to eat 10 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. I learned a few things. First is that salad is your friend and a great way to get your veggies in. I have an enormous capacity to eat and when you pair that with eating a salad the size of a mixing bowl, then it's a recipe for healthy eating. I can make a salad that equals four servings of vegetables and plow through it easily. The hard thing is eating servings of vegetables that aren't salads. The hard thing is that I can live on salads all day long. The other salad related revelation is to find a good salad dressing. J and I bought this AMAZING strawberry-chipotle balsamic and a kickass fig syrup that makes the most divine salad dressing. Seriously, a salad with that stuff is like candy. Finally, I am learning I really hate cooking greens like kale. I don't know why I can totally love eating salad but hate eating kale but there it is.

Anyway, in terms of results, I consistently ate more than 5 servings a day but dear god, ten was an act of god. I hit ten servings twice, both on weekends when I had the time to go to the farmer's market. The hard part is the fruit because there are only so many carbs I can eat and I am reluctant to eat fruit that have carbs. But that is solely dependent on what fruit is available because a perfectly ripe apple is like candy.

Here's how it shook out:

Day 1 - 8 servings
Day 2 - 9 servings
Day 3 - 10 servings
Day 4 - 10 servings
Day 5 - 6 servings
Day 6 - 7 servings
Day 7 - 6 servings

Rocking the test results

2009-10-26T13:42:00.003-04:00

Saturday, I got my blood drawn and my urine specimened to see what progress I've made dealing with diabetes. It was about 13 months since I was first diagnosed and five months since my last set of test results. In the intervening five months I went off all medication regulating my blood glucose so any result I had would be purely based on my diet and exercise. From the title of the post, you know how things turned out.

Here's the one year ago picture:

A1C level (measuring glucose) - 9.7 (standard is between 4.5 and 6.0)

ALBUMIN/CREATININE ratio (measuring how well my body able to retain protein in the bloodstream) - 122.5 (standard is below 29.9)

Overall cholestorol - 300 (standard is below 236)

HDL (the good cholesterol) - 40 (you should be above 40)

LDL (the bad cholestrol) - 137 (you should be less than 129)

Triglyceride (fat in your bloodstream) - 650 (should should be less than 199!)

So what are the numbers today?

A1C level (measuring glucose) - 5.1

ALBUMIN/CREATININE ratio (measuring how well my body able to retain protein in the bloodstream) - 14.5

Overall cholestorol - 151 (standard is below 236)

HDL (the good cholesterol) - 57 (you should be above 40)

LDL (the bad cholestrol) - 77 (you should be less than 129)

Triglyceride (fat in your bloodstream) - 83 (should should be less than 199!)

So there it is. I have to acknowledge that the Albumin/creatinine numbers and the cholesterol numbers are affected by the medication I'm taking but my doctor and nutritionist say those things don't mean bupkiss if I ain't living right. And the thing is, living right isn't a punishment. Last week I ate CHICKEN FRIED STEAK WITH BEER GRAVY! I made sure to forego the mashed potatoes and have a double order of roasted veggies but seriously folks - CHICKEN FRIED STEAK. What started out as one hellish month and a serious fear of Splenda has morphed into a lifestyle with a lot of Splenda desserts. Thanks y'all for giving me a space to think these things through. Let's keep on keeping on.

The Challenge

2009-10-19T16:18:00.003-04:00

I work at an organization that promotes healthy living and I get to interview someone on their project to get members of their community to eat 5-10 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. It's really fascinating because they are working with a low-literacy, limited English proficient, immigrant population. The learning is very experiential and visual. What I find to be a great success story was the person running the program felt like she had to actually eat 5-10 servings of fruits and vegetables a day so she wasn't spewing hypocriticial bs. And after six months on the program she lost 30 pounds. She didn't do anything else. In fact she was telling me about how she's also be eating nachos and steak. But she was eating a heck of a lot less nachoes and steak because she had to get her 10 servings in. So here's my challenge - eating 10 servings of fruits and vegetables a day.

Here's a handy guide for those of you who are unfamiliar with serving sizes for fruits and vegetables.

In this challenge I have amended the rules:

1. Canned fruits and veggies don't count (although frozen does as long as it's not packed in syrup)

2. Beans and legumes don't count. They are the great superfood but they are like loaded with carbs. Great if you are a hunter who hunts and forages all day. Bad if you are diabetic.

3. Hell to the no with juice. It's not a fruit, it's sugar.

So here goes. I'll check in weekly about this but I am curious to see how realistic 10 servings is.

This is how to keep people healthy

2009-10-06T18:13:00.002-04:00

For those of you who live outside of California, I wanted to sing the praises of the above Kaiser Permanente ad. Considering we have a mixed race President with his white mother, Asian American sister, and African immigrant father, this ad acknowledges how every family can be a family of color (as well as a queer family). One of the important things about taking charge of your life is seeing yourself reflected in healthy living. This huge, multi-generational, interracial, queer family reflects the reality of so many of us. It says we need to stay healthy to see how large and diverse and INTERESTING our family can become. Bravo Kaiser Permanente!

Pretty Bird

2009-09-26T21:11:00.003-04:00

I roasted a chicken today for the first time ever. It felt like a rite of passage, like now I'm really a grown-up, cuz I've cooked a bird.

Here she is:

This was one of Dad's very typical dishes, and I asked Mom for the quick rundown of how he did it. He would always roast a chicken (or a pot roast, or a pork roast, etc.) in a little water and builloin with carrots and celery, hence the little veggie bath my bird is in. I used one of Giant's organic / antibiotic free, etc. fresh chickens. I stuffed in a few sprigs of rosemary fresh from my balcony and a bay leaf, and sprinkled some dried thyme around. I cooked it for an hour at 350 degrees.

The end result?

It probably could've used more cooking time, because some of the dark meat wasn't cooked through. The white meat in the breast was delicious, though, so that made me happy. :-)

The sad part of it? I have *terrible* knife skills, so my attempts at carving were pretty horrifying. At a few points I just switched to using my fingers -- all final vestiges of my former vegetarian self are now gone, with what I put that bird through... I still only ended up getting about 2/3 of the meat off.

I used the veggies as a side and then cooked up some white rice. Also using a Dad trick, I used the pan juice / drippings and mixed it with cornstarch to make a nice light gravy. *That* tasted like Dad used to make it.

So, I had one good meal out of this today and 2 more servings waiting in the fridge for later in the week. This was an interesting experiment... but until I get better with a knife I think I'll go back to buying my chicken in pieces.

Awesome low fat salad dressing recipe

2009-09-25T14:34:00.002-04:00

Hey stef! Here's another use for your mini-prep food processor.

South of the border salad dressing

1/2 cup of salsa (I like Trader Joe's 3 pepper salsa)
1/2 cup of nonfat sour cream (or even nonfat yogurt)
1 clove of garlic
1 tablespoon lowfat mayo (you can use nonfat mayo but I think that stuff tastes vile)
Juice of 1 lime

Additional add ins: chopped cilantro, chopped scallions, finely chopped jalapeno, chili powder, cumin

Throw everything into a small food processor and whirl until smooth. A great dip for julienned bell peppers or sugar snap peas or cherry tomatoes. Make an awesome salad with chopped chicken or shrimp, shredded cheddar, and baked tortilla chips.

Happy Diabetaversary

2009-09-21T13:40:00.002-04:00

Whew, it's been a while since either Stef or I checked in. It's funny how the post-summer life starts getting in the way. For those of you who don't know that the Bay area does not follow the regular four seasons but ends up having something like 30 season throughout the year. Whereas most of you probably "enjoyed" a hot summer, the Bay area summer ends up being a chilly, foggy fall climate. Most visitors end up having to do a target run for long pants and hoodies. The funny part is that once September hits, the Bay area experiences the summer that the rest of the country put up with. You see, when the temperature in the rest of the state is summer, the heat gets trapped in the Central Valley and the weather stays firmly entrenched in the 60 degree range. Once it cools down in the rest of the state, our September ends up with temperatures in the 80s.

With that in mind, it was this time last year I found out I had diabetes. And shortly afterwards, I asked stef if she wanted to start a blog. In the past year, I've kicked diabetes ass and learned to love Splenda (like LOOOOVE Splenda). Here's a snapshot of my year living with diabetes.

September
After much crying and freaking out, I take the crappy Living with Diabetes class and learn how to monitor my blood glucose level and learn ways to control my diabetes. Stef and I start the blog.

October
I start hitting the gym on a regular basis and creating the food log. I realize I need to eat more regularly and space out my eating so that I have two snacks and three meals. My midnight snack becomes my savior.

November
I have a great time eating my first post-diagnosis Thanksgiving. Much turkey is eaten and people actually envy my splenda mocha panna cotta with sugar free chocolate mousse.

December
This is where diabetes just becomes a part of my life. The crazy ass blood sugar drops stop as my body adjusts and I meet with my super-awesome nutritionist. My first post-diagnosis blood result comes back and I kick some diabetes ass. I'm in normal range on all of my readings. I also travel like mad and learn how to have some semblance of normal eating and exercise while traveling (entailing many a 10:00 pm run).

January
I run my first race (a five miler) and do it in a sub-ten minute mile pace. I increase my running from two three-mile runs and a five mile run to two four mile runs and a six mile run. My test results come back and I am now beyond normal to crazy ass awesome in my readings.

February
Another praiseworthy month as I continue on the same path. I increase my running to two four mile runs and a seven mile run.

March
I run a 10K across the Golden Gate Bridge. The day is beautiful and I can't complain about running over a national monument.

April
I decrease my medication as my diet and exercise regime is doing a good job of controlling my blood sugar levels.

May
Bay to Breakers! Running on the steep hill for about a mile and still managing to run a sub-ten minute mile pace, in costume! Yay! My nutritionist tells me I can stop taking the diabetes medication.

June
I graduate from the diabetes program and my insurance doesn't think it's cost effective to spend one afternoon a month having a nutritionist praise me. J and I move and getting the the gym becomes harder. I still do it four times a week!

July
We get a dog and I have to add an extra hour of walking to my exercise regime. I also go into maintenance mode and cut back on the running and strength training. I get so good a Splenda desserts I poison J (who is allergic to artificial sweeteners)

August
I gain about four pounds but somehow go down another pants size. How is this possible?

September
New goals - 1) run a ten miler 2) Keep the food log and cut back on the fat 3) Pass a REAL health care reform bill.

Right Wing nutcases are not like you and I

2009-09-08T18:33:00.002-04:00

Check it readers, they are excoriating Michelle Obama for supporting the establishment of a Farmer's Market on Vermont Ave. I've been a little over a year since I've moved but are there any Mom and Pop grocery stores selling fresh vegetables that this farmer's market would drive out of business in the neighborhood near the White House? Then the opponents should just zip it. I'll leave you with this hilarious quote:

"Real Americans like fast food and grease, and, if they ever find themselves eye-to-eye with a vegetable, they want it to be flash-frozen or at the very least plasti-wrapped. No one who was actually born in the United States could countenance such disregard for this country's traditions."

Soup's On

2009-08-30T18:45:00.002-04:00

I tried a new recipe tonight - curried carrot soup. Yes, it's a Rachael Ray recipe. Yes, it's from a Halloween episode and she made it into a "spiderweb." But I overlooked all that because I'm looking for a good carrot soup recipe.

This is one of those recipes that's dependent upon you having the right, ahem, *equipment* in the kitchen. It requires a good blender, full-sized food processor, or immersion blender. Since I'm becoming a whiz with the blender that's older than me, I fired it up.

Overall, the soup came out really well. It did take more than 30 minutes, of course, since it took longer to bring it all to boil and then orchestrating the puree process in batches takes a while (and is messy) too.

I learned a good lesson - just because you like heat, doesn't mean you need to always lean towards the upper end of the spice measurements. Wow, this had some kick! Next time, I would use less cayenne.

I did not do the "spiderweb" goofball technique, and instead just stirred in some nonfat sour cream before serving. And I skipped the salt and used lowfat butter. But then I did eat the soup with some sea salt crackers... and had to follow it up with a big glass of milk because my mouth was just slightly on fire! :-)

Overall, though, it's a good recipe that's relatively easy to make and I'll just turn down the heat a bit next time. But I've got 2 more containers of this batch waiting for me in the freezer first!

I DID Spend 15 years in DC - Health Care Reform

2009-08-26T14:56:00.003-04:00

Has anyone been noticing the subtle (not!) fat hatred going on in the debate about health care reform? Over and over again, by both the right and the left, we hear the same message - you fatties are costing us money! Over and over again we hear how obesity is costing the country trillions of dollars. Yes folks, you fat ass and my fat ass is more costly than the fricking Iraq War. And if only we did more to shrink our fat asses our health care system would be magically fixed. You know the irony of this thinking? It's LAZY. The very thing that society accuses us fatties of. This research doesn't dig deeper to see about co-morbidity factors like lack of exercise. It doesn't look beyond what's on the scale. Because it would actually take EFFORT to look at measures of health like A1C, cholesterol, and incidence of stroke and heart disease.

Real health care reform isn't about numbers on a scale. It's about access. Because when you have access, the other stuff comes together. I spent a study abroad year in England under their "socialist" National Health Service. Because I didn't have to pay a goddamned dime to see the doctor, I went to the doctor every month. I got my teeth cleaned twice during that year and got a pair of contact lenses AND glasses. My doctor spent at least a half an hour talking to me about my health. It was EASY to stay healthy.

For real health care reform to take root, stop telling people to do more. STOP IT. Especially to us fatties. Because are you READING THIS FUCKING BLOG? Or Onyah's blog? Or Laure P's blog? We are working our asses off. We are thinking about this stuff every day. We're cooking healthier. We're getting up early to exercise. Don't tell me or anyone else that we need to work harder.

You want to spend less money on health care? Make this stuff easy. Make cooking easier. Instead of subsidizing Monsanto, why not subsidize CSA programs? Why not allow poor folks to get a box of organic produce the same why Onyah does? Why not spend a couple of million dollars (compared to the $300 million Monsanto gets) to start Farmer's Markets in Anacostia and West Oakland? Why not subsidize programs that get corner stores to replace cigarettes with fresh produce? By the way, this proposal IS BUDGET NEUTRAL. You aren't spending a dime more if you divert a teeny weeny portion of industrial agriculture subsidies to community food access programs.

Make going to the doctor cheap and easy. That means making sure we are guaranteed health insurance and it won't go away because we lose our jobs or because our jobs can't pay for them because the insurance company decided to jack up the premiums. You know what that means? The public option. Let me buy into Medicare. And make sure the insurance covers COST SAVING THINGS like gym membership and nutritionists. The thing is, these things aren't just luxuries for the young and affluent - they can be the determining factor between inexpensive prevention ($100 for a nutritionist appointment) and costly medical procedures ($100,000 surgery).

I find it hilarious that fatties are somehow the scourge of the earth and responsible for the health care crisis. As if the insurance companies don't spend $7 billion a year DENYING coverage. As if those same companies aren't spending hundreds of millions of dollars LOBBYING AGAINST the public option. That's pretty damn wasteful to me.

Further Cooking Adventures

2009-08-22T11:42:00.002-04:00

I've been getting back into the groove in the kitchen, making easy meals that I can eat for several days as I return to the nutritionist-approved homemade lunch routine during the week.

This week, I tried a very easy low-fat chicken with artichokes recipe. This really was a cinch to make, with several pantry items, and it's very tasty. I've sent the recipe on to Mom and she's going to try it, too.

Here's the finished product, which I served with some Dreamfields low-carb elbow macaroni. It would also be good with rice or just a crusty bread. I used no salt tomatoes in my dish. For those of you who like more seasoning, you might want to add some salt during the cooking process. I'm getting so used to a lower-sodium diet that this was just fine for me, and it made 3 portions I've been enjoying for a few days.

Now, I noticed a few food pics in my folder that I haven't shared yet... so here are a few dishes from the last several weeks.

This is a tilapia dish that Scotte inspired, as I cook the fish with diced tomatoes. I took this pic cuz I loved the look of my own, homegrown fresh parsley in the mix. Alas, the parsley has since fallen victim to the bug invasion on my balcony and I won't have any more to use. :-(

Another tomato dish - which I threw together as a side dish to a steak one night. I halved and roasted a whole package of grape tomatoes (cherry would work too) with just a little olive oil, more fresh parsley, and lowfat feta cheese. Deeeeeeeelicious!

And, one of my successful homemade pizzas, which are a new favorite. Sauteed spinach, lowfat Italian cheese, tomato basil sauce, and a whole wheat pizza crust. SO easy and delicious!

Frank Bruni Interview in Salon - Thoughts?

2009-08-21T18:30:00.002-04:00

So I'm reading the Frank Bruni interview in Salon. He gave this little piece of insight to his own challenges with eating.

I think people with eating issues can't imagine the constant temptation of being a restaurant critic. You work out a fair amount. But really, what was the trick in keeping off weight?

Being a restaurant critic helped me maintain weight and not gain weight, because I think my problem is the same as that of a lot of many people whose eating gets out of control in that I really kind of rode a sort of binge-purge roller coaster, and that roller coaster was facilitated by my ability to tell myself the lie that I was going to be really bad today and tomorrow and maybe even the next day because the next week I was going to do a cleanse or a fast. As a restaurant critic, I had to keep eating at a certain pace. By never being able to tell myself with any degree of convincing honesty that I was going to be great and do an ultra-ultra-extreme deprivation next week, I never allowed myself to binge the way I had in the past, because I couldn't tell myself with any convincing honesty or authority that sort of purge was coming up on the far end of it.

I think it does affirm a piece of what we try and say here - it's about the eating and deprivation isn't a great way to approach living healthy. It's a fascinating interview and really makes me want to go out and buy his book.

What are your thoughts?

Blurgh. Aaargh. Ugggh.

2009-08-17T07:31:00.003-04:00

My rough summer is reflecting itself on my scale, just a great way to start a Monday morning. Aargh. I have gained back 8 pounds since my lowest point, and I can feel it. I can feel it in how my clothes fit and how I move, and it just makes me mad... I have gotten off track, for sure, but I haven't been *that* bad. It's amazing to see just how little slips make such a big difference... or, in reverse, I guess it's amazing to see just how much I had cut out of my diet and what a difference that made.

So, because I don't want to give up and because I know I need to get my rhythm back - and that of all people, Dad was the one rooting for me the most - I have to refocus. I even bought a new little notebook so I can start a fresh food journal and don't have to have the empty pages of the old one taunt me.

I learned so much from the nutritionist, I need to keep putting it to work and I need to find my own feelings of accountability to keep me going.

Everything's Better as a Smoothie

2009-08-15T14:06:00.002-04:00

I love smoothies. Mom's always been a big smoothie person, and we spent many a summer night in ye olde 1980's enjoying the bounty of our garden and fruit trees in smoothie form. Yum.

As I've been on my own, I have experimented with smoothies a bit but in all those years without a dishwasher I didn't do much at home and instead paid exorbitant amounts of money for super-sugary, high calorie smoothies on the run.

But, inspired again by several of Mom's concoctions this summer, I am reminded of just how tasty and easy it is to enjoy your fruit in blended form.

Over the past few months, I have used my little 3-cup mini-chop to try to make some good yogurt-and-fruit snacks, but it's always proven to be super messy. So, a few days ago, I dug way deep into the closet and pulled out Mom's awesome (and dishwasher-safe) Osterizer Cyclorama, which dates back to those pre-Stef years of the early 1970's. This baby is awesome, complete with many, many buttons on the front that practically let you set it to stun.

I just fired it up for a really interesting concoction - one fresh purple plum, 1/2 pint fresh red raspberries, 1 little blueberry light Activia yogurt, and about a 1/2 cup of fat-free blueberry-cranberry sorbet. The result is a tangy, bright, fresh snack that I'm enjoying at this very moment.

I'm looking forward to experimenting more with ye olde Osterizer in the coming weeks. Anyone have any favorite combos to recommend?

Stretches?

2009-08-10T16:39:00.002-04:00

Anyone have any good stretches for your upper back? With all of the quilting I am doing as well as walking a 66 pound husky twice a day, my shoulders and upper back are getting tight. I'd love any advice on stretching that area of my back as I can't get a chair massage every week.

In Praise of Cooking

2009-08-02T21:17:00.002-04:00

Great Sunday magazine piece from Michael Pollan in the NYT. He offers a historical/cultural viewpoint on the decline of cooking and the rise of food tv, and what it means for our collective health. A great call to return to the kitchen...

The very last paragraph says it best:

“Easy. You want Americans to eat less? I have the diet for you. It’s short, and it’s simple. Here’s my diet plan: Cook it yourself. That’s it. Eat anything you want — just as long as you’re willing to cook it yourself.”

Magazine
Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch
By MICHAEL POLLAN
Published: August 2, 2009
How American cooking became a spectator sport, and what we lost along the way.

More to Love The Good, The Bad, and the Whackadoo

2009-07-30T12:33:00.003-04:00

I do find it absolutely hilarious that reviewers of More to Love are saying it's not nearly as entertaining because she show treats the contestants as human beings as opposed to famewhores. So seriously, as my civic duty, I HAD to watch More To Love and I found it... engrosssing. There are cringe inducing similarities to The Bachelor like the cheesetastic declarations of wanting to find a soul mate and wanting to connect. But there is a great deal of heart to this show I find endearing. When the ladies are talking about how desperate they are to find someone you don't think to yourself "famewhore!" There's a lifetime of pain in the show that is rearing it's ugly head. So here's my list of the high and low lights of this show.

The Good
1. The fact that Luke's attraction to large women is portrayed as an attraction, not some weird fetish.
2. The fact that Luke isn't made out to be some kind of saint just because he likes large woman.
3. The woman who was all up with people about her weight and just said she was going to buy nice clothes and do awesome things at any weight.
4. There were only two instances of women putting each other down.
5. Noone else was stupid enough to jump into the pool after that girl in the black dress did.
6. Noone made catty remarks about anyone else's appearance (although there were catty remarks about attention whore behavior).
7. Luke made it really clear that he found them all attractive so whether they were "pretty" enough was off the table.
8. Luke likes to eat and hopes to find someone who also likes to eat as well.
9. Luke as a MAN of size admitting he's been burned for being fat.
10. The one remark about the girl in the pool was calling her an otter, not a whale.

The Bad
1. The girl who jumped into the pool.
2. That goth girl who wanted to be all wifey.
3. The endless parade of women who thought this reality show was their last chance at love (at age 25!)
4. The confident photographer who seemed to be pretty comfortable with her body got eliminated.
5. The rocket scientist got eliminated.
6. "What do you like to eat?" "Anything thick and juicy." EEEWWWWWWWW.
7. Every Bachelor style trope imaginable - two girls cuddling with the bachelor, girls gushing about how cute he is, constant talk about "possibly falling in love" and "making connections." You want a connection, get internet.
8. "I always do things when people tell me not to." "Well don't kiss me then."
9. Luke begging for kisses in the most awkward way possible.
10. The trash-tastic outfits those poor women had to wear. Has noone seen the Oprah episode on bras?????

Did anyone else watch it?

Help Needed!

2009-07-28T12:44:00.003-04:00

So those of you involved in the President's Physical Fitness Challenge, I need some help. I just passed the 20,000 point mark (after two months and a 12k race) and I'd like to order my damn bronze medal but I can't figure out how to do it online. Can someone walk we through it? Every time I try and order it online, I get to the page with the t-shirts and lanyards. I don't want a damn lanyard, I want my MEDAL!

And yes, I fillay got enough points for some bling. Yay me.

Sexism and Weight

2009-07-23T17:41:00.002-04:00

Has anyone seen a recent picture of Kevin Federline? Without making any value judgments (especially because his weight gain makes him MORE my type), it's a pretty dramatic change. How much have you seen about this in the tabloids? Any headlines about the fact he's gained weight or any admonitions to K.Fed about dieting? Not that I've seen. Of course his ex-wife gains MAYBE ten pounds and decides to give a sad-ass performance at the MTV awards and she's ripped twelve ways to Sunday for having curves. And pluh-ease American society. Britney was a mess at the MTV awards that year because she did a poorly rehearsed lip-sync routine with worse dancing than the anyone paired up with Edyta Slavinskaya (or whatever her name is) on Dancing with the Stars. Her weight had NOTHING to do with Britney being a hot mess. BUT Kevin Federline has a pretty dramatic weight gain a we hear nothing. Is there any possible explanation than sexism? We know that Britney is a zillion times more famous than her ex but it's not like other quasi-celebs like Heidi or Lauren or Kendra have it any easier.

On a happier note, getting a dog is already awesome for my weight. For one, the incentive to walk is pretty high when you know you'll be cleaning up poop on your dining room floor if you don't. For another, I went running this morning with the dog and it was awesome for several reasons:

1) Getting compliments on the dog by all the sane people who live in my neighborhood (because she is the most beautifulest dog in the WORLD!)

2) Being left along by the crazy people in my neighborhood because they think my dog is a bloodthirsty wolf.

3) Running four miles with her and realizing you can run four miles in a little over a half an hour as you keep up with a sled dog. Now THERE'S a sign you're in good shape.

Herby Update

2009-07-22T20:07:00.002-04:00

I've been cooking... with herbs! Herbs I grew myself!

Yes, there has been harvesting on the balcony (not just in FarmTown). So far, I have:

- used fresh rosemary on a white pizza and a 3 bean dish
- chopped up some dill into FF sour cream for a veggie dip
- added fresh parsley to a roasted tomatoes and feta dish
- added in several leaves of fresh basil into my sauteed spinach and tomato sauce over pasta

All of it, delicious! And definitely a great reward for all of the gardening fun I've been having.

My lifestyle just got healthier

2009-07-20T11:46:00.003-04:00

Because we just got a dog! Her name is Kaya and she's a Siberian husky and she's smart and affectionate. The daily walks will be great for me as well as her. Lookee here!

Halfway to Grilling Success

2009-07-19T21:15:00.002-04:00

Tonight I attempted to recreate one of my brother's recent grill meals, and other than a need to figure out how to adapt the marinade for the grill pan, it worked out pretty well.

My brother made skewers last weekend on the outdoor gas grill, with a combo of chicken, pineapple chunks, mushrooms, red bell peppers, and red onion wedges. He made mine without the peppers and onions, by request, so tonight I tried to make my own chicken and mushroom skewers with grilled pineapple as the side.

I started with this new fancy marinade that came in one of the many gift baskets we've gotten lately: garlic rosemary citrus sauce. It was pretty good stuff. I cubed 2 big organic chicken breasts and used a whole small package of mushrooms. I let it all marinade covered in the fridge for about 2 hours.

My Giant only had little skewers, maybe about 6 inches, instead of the big (maybe 10 inch?) ones my brother had. So I made 6 little mini skewers.

Here it all is on my nice Calphalon grill pan. And you can see the problem - unlike on the grill, on the pan the marinade has nowhere to go but to start burning. I kept turning the skewers and the burning didn't end up to be too bad - the chicken and mushrooms still had good flavor. But I would love to figure out how to grill marinaded things in the pan without this problem. So far I've only stuck to seasoned meats, nothing with a liquid marinade. Any advice?

It all came out pretty well, and it was a light, tasty dinner. Grilled pineapple freakin' rocks. I have 3 more skewers for lunch tomorrow, though they were the ones that were a little more burned.

I talked with Mom after dinner and she recommended next time I let the skewers sit over the bowl for a while to let most of the liquid marinade drip off, so it's still got the flavor but less of the mess. Does anyone have any other tricks?

Now I'm Getting Back in the Groove

2009-07-18T16:46:00.003-04:00

I haven't really been eating as well as I should the last few weeks. I've been mostly good while with Mom and my brother - Mom always has tons of fruits and veggies in the house, and we ate a lot of them. My brother grilled a lot, so we had tasty outdoor meals with healthy sides. But, I did indulge a bit - popcorn or candy at the movies, some chocolate treats, lots of chips and salsa.

And once I got back home this past week I definitely slipped... chips with onion dip, a big old mayo-dripping tuna sandwich, several cookies. Of course, this is still no pizza-and-wings slip like I've done in the past, but enough of a relaxing of the rules that I'm sure I'll see it on the scale. I'm not beating myself up, though, I recognize this has not been a normal or easy time.

And even though I thought I would do it weeks ago, I hadn't started back on my food journal - until today. Today is exactly one month since Dad died. I figured this is as good a time as any to get back into the swing of things. So, I'm writing things down and feeling good having a fully stocked kitchen again.

So here's the one thing I haven't decided yet... whether or not I will be going back to the nutritionist. I had to cancel an appointment while I was away and haven't rescheduled it yet. She has been VERY helpful to me and I've learned a lot, and the things she has taught me has really helped me turn things around. But, frankly, this decision will be purely financial. I am reprioritizing my finances now in many ways and have to make some tough decisions. The $80 I've been spending each month for a 20-minute visit is a tough call, especially since with each subsequent visit it's been a diminishing return as she mainly reads my food journal and says "good job." Is it supposed to be an indefinite arrangement? We've never talked about any duration of the relationship or plan, and I know some people just go every month for years.

This is going to be a tough call. I think I'm going to take the next few weeks to return to my routine, including journaling every day, and see how I do. I have an appointment with my doctor coming up, and will get my blood work done again this fall to see if there's any effect. I'll make another appointment if I feel like I need it, but if I keep doing well on my own, that money could be spent on some of my other personal priorities. Plane tickets are not cheap.

Pavlova – Two Ways (or Damn you Barefoot Contessa!)

2009-07-13T15:30:00.002-04:00

It’s been intimated that J and I have some eating restrictions, me with the diabetes and J with dairy allergies as well as an allergy to artificial sweeteners. That makes dessert a huge challenge. I’ve resolved this challenge by making the same desserts two ways – one with Splenda and dairy (for me) and the other with sugar and dairy substitutes (for him). A good example of this is my cobbler recipe. I make a cobbler with almond flour in ramekins. I do a ¼ cup of almond flour with ½ teaspoon of baking powder and 1 tablespoon of sugar and then mix in 1 tablespoon of melted butter, 1 tablespoon of almond milk and a dash of vanilla. Spoon on top of about ½ a cup of chopped fruit (stone fruit like cherries and nectarines work best) and bake for half an hour at 350 degrees. For myself, all I need to do is replace the sugar with the equivalent amount of Splenda and I’m set.

Sunday, J and I were going to Muffin and June’s for a BBQ with Bellisima and West Coast Rebecca. Being summertime in the bay area, I decided to try my hand at pavlova. For those of you who don’t know palvova, it’s a meringue shell that is mashmallowy in the middle. It’s cratered in the middle as well so people traditionally pile it high with fruit and whipped cream. Perfect dessert to highlight summer fruit. Like the cobbler, I decided to make a version for me (whipped cream and splenda) and a version for J (lemon curd and sugar). Because you can freeze the pavlova ahead of time, I tried my hand at pavlova on Friday night. For the first time Ina Garten did me WRONG. I made her Back to Basics it failed. What I got was a gloppy mess of a meringue that was more the consistency of a meringue topping for a lemon meringue pie. Never a waster, I decided to fold in the lemon curb to the failed meringue to lighten the lemon curd.

The next morning I did a little research (Nigella!) and saw that every OTHER cookbook was saying to bake the pavlova at 300 degrees as opposed to the 180 that Ina instructed. I did the whole shebang again using the Barefoot Contessa recipe but using the oven temperature of Nigella Lawson (preheat to 350 and when you put it in, immediately drop temp to 300). It was a huge success. I tried it again using baking Splenda, and another HUGE SUCCESS! So in one pavlova there were raspberries and blackberries over lemon curd and another pavlova there were the same berries over whipped cream sweetened with Splenda. In fact, Muffin, who ate both versions, liked the Splenda version. SCORE!

So here’s my sugar-free version of a pavlova. To make it low-fat, simply use low-fat (or even nonfat cool whip).

• 2 extra-large egg whites, at room temperature
• Pinch kosher salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place a sheet of parchment paper on a sheet pan. Draw a 5-inch circle on the paper, then turn the paper over so the circle is on the reverse side. (This way you won't get a pencil mark on the meringue.)
Place the egg whites and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat the egg whites on high speed until firm, about 2 minutes. With the mixer still on high, slowly add the sugar and beat until it makes firm, shiny peaks, about 2-3 more minutes.
Remove the bowl from the mixer, sift the cornstarch onto the beaten egg whites, add the vinegar and vanilla, and fold in lightly with a rubber spatula. Pile the meringue into the middle of the circle on the parchment paper and smooth it within the circle, making a rough disk. Place in oven, immediately turn down to 300 dgrees and bake for 1 1/2 hours. Turn off the oven, keep the door closed, and allow the meringue to cool completely in the oven, about 1 hour. It will be crisp on the outside and soft on the inside.
Invert the meringue disk onto a plate. There will be a cracked crater of delciciousness that is perfect for lemon curd, whipped cream or just fruit and a dash of some old balsamic.

Weight as a Social Construct

2009-07-11T17:50:00.002-04:00

Interesting article here from CNN covering everything from "vanity sizing" of clothes to studies done about people's perceptions of their own bodies vs. their BMI's (which my co-blogger will likely have something to say about) to the history of whether and when "thin was in."

Thoughts?

More to Love

2009-07-09T13:10:00.001-04:00

Onyah I am SOOOO watching More to Love. Here’s what is totally appealing aobut this show – it’s just as trashy, nasty, and icky and the Bachelor! It’s a Civil Rights moment here that fat folks get to be as drama queeny and attention whorey as the skinny folks. It’s nice that the full figured girls are competing for a guy who is Jim Belushi sized as opposed to a Jim Belushi sized guy getting his pick of his Courtney Thorne Smiths. That and the fact that the guy looks just as slick as any Bachelor and the ladies looks just as cheesy as any of the Bachelorettes.

Learning Together

2009-07-07T17:41:00.003-04:00

As I've mentioned before on this blog, Dad has always been the real cook in our family. I've been so happy bonding with him over recipes over the last several months, and I know he got real pleasure out of sharing some of his expertise with me and seeing me get really excited about one of his favorite hobbies. (Gardening was another, ditto.) I'm going to miss that, incredibly.

But... something new may come out of this all.

One of the very first things my Mom said when she got off the plane returning home from her horrible ordeal in China was "Well, now I'm going to have to learn how to cook." My ears pricked up. Mom said she'd been so used to Dad cooking for the last 41 years - how long they'd been together - that while she knows the basics she really let the kitchen be his domain and she just enjoyed the fruits of his labors.

Now, however, she needs to find her way around again in the kitchen and learn to try new things to find out what SHE likes after all these years. So, I've made it my mission to help, and to let this be something Mom and I can do together.

On my last visit here, my brother and I took turns doing most of the cooking. He, like my Dad, is a grillmaster, so his meals basically involved lots and lots of meat cooked in the great outdoors. But I got the chance to introduce both of them to the tilapia and asparagus dish (from HungryGirl) that I've come to love. Mom really liked it, being a fish fan and a huge asparagus lover, and as she ate it she kept asking me questions about how I'd made it.

Now that I'm back here for another week, we made plans that I would do a lot of the cooking. Yesterday, I made the HungryGirl Asian broccoli slaw as a side to eat with Mom's broiled teriyaki salmon, and it was a big success. Mom ate 2 big bowls of it! And she kept asking what was in it, and said this was something she could make to take to her picnics and pot lucks since it was a good healthy recipe. Tonight, I'm cooking up a lasagna, Dad's healthy veggie recipe made in Dad's own pans. I hope she likes it, cuz I know it meant a lot to me to be cooking with his knives, and his pans, in his kitchen. Later in the week, I'm going to show her the South Beach breakfast mini quiches I love, and I'm going to whip up some of my spinach-potato-cannellini bean soup.

I think this will be good for us. Mom's always been a really healthy eater, and I know she's looking for creative things to do more than just salads. And I want to keep learning and having someone to share it with. We both have Dad's cookbooks, and I will continue exploring. And Mom doesn't know this yet, but her birthday is this Thursday and I ordered her a gift subscription to Cooking Light. So, even though Dad is no longer with us physically, his spirit will live on in our kitchens as well as in our hearts.

Fat TV - Ruby and Dance Your Ass Off

2009-07-07T12:03:00.002-04:00

So summer seems to be the time for Fat TV between Ruby and Dance Your Ass Off. First Ruby. Ruby is so crazy frustrating because there are moments of truth about losing weight and being a person of size. I think of the first season of how Ruby was pointing out that chairs can be her enemy and her triumphs of losing weight. But then there's the fakey stage drama crap and the annoying whining of - Why are you eating that in front of me????? Ruby, people are allowed to eat things that you can't eat. My father-in-law can't have tomatoes or shrimp. While there's a lot less social baggage around a food allergy, noone I know with a food allergy ever treat it like a punishment that people are eating things they can't eat. And if that's an issue, let's get smart about it. Rather than deny myself dessert with J and the in-laws, I MAKE dessert - individual cherry cobblers in ramekins. Mine is made with splenda everyone else's is made with sugar. They get regular ice cream, I get the sugar free stuff. Does it look smell or even taste any different? Not to me. Hey Ruby that's what empowerment is.

On the good side, I really like how the show is portraying Ruby's grief over her Dad and its impact on her staying on the program. I think her psychiatrist is spot on to tell her to cut herself some slack. I feel bad the Ruby, after essentially a month of grieving, felt the need to weigh herself and beat herself up even more for not reaching her desired goal weight. Well, if you are spending a month in a grief-filled funk, then give yourself some space to do that. The real challenge is to see her move out of it and come back to the program. The hard thing about healthy living is living healthy when you don't feel like it. What makes this a bit unrealistic is that I don't see habits being formed. I see Ruby constantly working at it. After a while things do become normal. But that doesn't make for good tv.

Speaking of good tv, the great thing about Dance Your Ass Off is seeing Marissa Jaret Winokour lose her soul bit by bit. Seriously, DYAO is one horrible show. It's on the Oxygen network and it's a combination of Biggest Loser and Dancing with the Stars. A bunch of fat people live in a house, try and lose weight, then learn a dance with a trained dance partner. Their ability to stay in the house is based on their percentage of weight lost and their dance scores (scored by three judges a la Dancing with the Stars). The inspiring weight loss part is totally pushed aside for the dancing stuff which is a total bummer. I'd rather see how they are losing weight than the stupid rehearsal footage. but the true reason to watch is to see Marissa, the host and Tony winner for Hairspray, try to stay perky as she knows this show is her career hitting rock bottom. And over and over again Marissa has to tell each contestant to "dance their ass off." It's hilarious and depressing at the same time.

It must be my month to be right!

2009-07-06T15:11:00.002-04:00

Check it. NPR's resident mathematician gives ten reasons why BMI is a big crock.

A New Staple

2009-07-04T21:07:00.002-04:00

I've discovered a new food item that I think will now achieve permanent staple status: 3-packs of 7-inch whole wheat pizza crusts.

I bought a package several weeks ago to try this really interesting recipe involving stone ground mustard, chickpeas, potatoes, asiago cheese, and fresh rosemary. It was not the best dish ever, though enjoyable, but it did introduce me to these handy little pizza crusts. I tossed the remaining crust into the freezer knowing I'd use it again soon.

And, ta-dah, tonight I made a very successful clean-the-fridge pizza dinner before I head out of town again tomorrow. One wheat pizza crust, several big spoonfuls of tomato basil pasta sauce, the remaining shredded asiago cheese, and 1 bag of fresh spinach sauteed with garlic and onions. (I drained the sauteed spinach before putting it on top of the pizza.) Delicious, handy, and really easy.

I could see myself using these crusts quite often in the future for just this kind of easy, throw-together meal.

Judgement Day

2009-07-01T18:54:00.003-04:00

My in-laws were in town for a week and we all had a great time. It seems that my in-law trips come in two varieties - tourist and handyman. Either the in-laws are making drapes and assembling furniture or we are taking day trips to the beach. Considering we just bought a house, you can only guess what kind of trip this was.

With the massive amount of help we were getting from my in-laws, I feel embarrassed to admit a twinge of judgment and a bit of envy I have for my father-in-law who is also diabetic. He's been living with his diagnosis for three years longer than I have and his A1C is a healthy 7, great for someone in his sixties. Therefore, he does stuff like drink milk and eat desserts and eat more than a cup of rice in one sitting. It was slightly puzzling some of the choices, having a huge bowl of cereal with milk and then sweetening his ice tea with Splenda. I kept on wondering both internally and externally, can he do that?

Looking back on the week I realize it wasn't just curiosity that was promting the wondering, it was envy. How come HE gets to eat dessert when I am working out much more than he does? How does he get to drink milk? It's insidious, isn't it? Part of coming to terms with what is happening in your own body is knowing you don't have any control over anyone else's.

My father-in-law is over thirty years older than I am. His goals will be different. He's got allergies where he can't eat shrimp and tomatoes. I voluntarily don't eat dessert with sugar. Different limitations. I work out like a mofo and eat things like pork belly and pate. He eats cookies.

Here's my clarion call to myself as I go along this journey. It's not about virtue. Taking care of yourself is not about feeling higher and mightier. It's about eating delicious things like a vine ripened tomato with brie and basil. It's about running up these stairs knowing you ran up twice that length during Bay to Breakers. It's about feeling good.

I'm Back

2009-06-30T08:16:00.004-04:00

Kinda. I'm home in DC for this week, then back out to my family next week.

In terms of all the lifestyle stuff... I've actually been pretty good, and I'm proud that I've kept up my commitment in the midst of this ordeal. I know my Dad has been so proud of what I've been doing, and excited to help me along, so I'm fully invested in continuing this journey both for myself and for my Dad. He would want me to keep going, to keep achieving new goals and making myself healthier. It seems more important now than ever.

We've been eating so erratically, though. I totally understand now why people send fruit baskets and casseroles after a death in the family, because it's just too hard for the family to think about cooking or making any decisions about sometime as simple as what to eat for dinner. Having apples and pears and cheese and crackers and fancy spreads and candies got us through several meals where we couldn't think otherwise. And for the first several days, none of us barely ate at all. My appetite has come back a bit, but nothing like normal. I've lost about another 2 pounds, but it was even more 2 days ago before I started forcing myself to really eat 3 meals a day.

I didn't take my food journal with me, but I'm starting that up again today and will get back on track. I'm heading to the grocery store soon to try and get the fixin's for some good balanced meals.

I have to share with you all that I've thought about this blog a lot in the last few weeks, and not in an especially happy way. Because it hasn't been lost on me about how the universe gave me a giant punch in the face... that less than a week after I'd posted about feeling strong and happy and finally content about where I am in my life, I got dealt the worst blow of my life. Is it better that it happened while I'm feeling strong rather than when I've been in a bad place? Probably. But it's really hard not to feel like there was some degree of hubris there, and I'm just not over that yet.

But we're all picking up the pieces and trying to figure out a way to move on. My mom, my brother and I are all taking good care of each other, and we'll continue to need objective friends to help, too.

Eating

2009-06-25T15:07:00.001-04:00

It’s been hard trying to write anything about the health stuff. One thing I am learning more and more is how dependent I am to routine. When I was in Phoenix for a conference, my glucose level really fluctuated. While I was working out regularly, I wasn’t eating enough. I never was able to get a late night snack in. For those of you who don’t know, late night snacks are a key part of keep my blood sugar low. It was a great piece of advice my nutritionist aunt gave to me. What happens is if you don’t get a late night snack your body decides to dump even more sugar into your system while you are asleep. That’s definitely one thing The Biggest Loser has right – eating. I love the episodes where Bob or Jillian goes and see what they are making themselves on the ranch and get all preachy about the contestants needing to eat more. It’s totally true. I’m finding the eating part (as opposed to not eating) is as important as the cutting back. Eating means I will have enough energy to run 7 miles. I can’t do morning workouts any more because I need to run longer distances and I don’t have time to eat. It does mean I won’t be burning more calories or building muscle which burns more calories. My nutritionist set a floor of how many carbs I need to eat at minimum. When I’ve gone under it’s really been hell. So lesson learned.

As a tip, I offer up string cheese. It's a great snack to address mid afternoon munchies without going into a sugar crash.

The President's Challenge

2009-06-14T09:05:00.003-04:00

It's been 6 weeks, and I've earned an award! The goal is to have at least 5 days a week of 30 minutes of exercise for 6 out of 8 weeks. I've been logging my time over the last 6 weeks, and while I should be doing more on my own... my daily commute accounts for a whole lot of walking time.

So I've managed to get in that minimum 5x30x6, and the Challenge website just told me I qualifed for an award! Since I'm all about tangible motivations, I went ahead and ordered my little patch and certificate (signed by BO, or at least designed that way), as well as a t-shirt. You better believe that certificate is going up on my refrigerator!

And now it just restarts again, so I've got another 6 weeks to go before another award. ;-)

Eyes on the Prize: A Testimonial

2009-06-12T19:23:00.002-04:00

Change of pace for a moment, dear readers... as I want to share some of my very personal inner monologue.... It's all part of the lifestyle improvement, and this is an area in which I really think it's working.

I had a conversation today with a friend that went down a new road, as I really started articulating something that I've just been starting to realize over the last few months. This conversation was specifically about my single status - which is a topic that I both make jokes about and sometimes feel great pain about, but that's neither here nor there for the moment - but it led me to put it all together about just how important all these things I've been doing are, not just physically but emotionally too.

To start, let's go back to almost exactly one year ago today. In fact, this coming Tuesday is a great marker, cuz it's the one-year anniversary of me moving into my great new apartment.

So, one year ago... I was pretty unhappy. Work stuff is excluded from this conversation, cuz that's the one area of my life in which I always feel pretty confident and in control of my place in life. Personally, not so much.

Last year, and for the FOUR years before that, I was living in an apartment that I had grown to hate. It had major issues over the years - roaches, mice, maggots, mold, horrible management, a fire, renovations in my own place while I was living there, you name it - and I really was not happy there. I didn't invite friends over, and I didn't want people to see the conditions in which I was living. Frankly, I let that apartment defeat me and I just gave up trying to make it better. It got to the point where one time after visiting my parents and staying in their nice clean comfortable house, I actually dreaded going back to my place. As I talked with my Mom about it, that was the moment that I *knew* I had to move. I finally was at a place financially where I could do it, and inertia was no longer a good excuse. So I did it, I moved out of that crap building that had a lot of crap memories to it.

And I ended up in my dream place. Really, I had visited this building years ago - before moving into the craphole - and loved it but I couldn't afford it then. When I knew I wanted to move, I came straight here. I didn't look around and comparison shop, cuz I think this building represented something for me -- the life I *wanted* to lead. So I set an appointment, asked if there were vacancies, and signed the lease right then and there. Done!

Going back again... this time to about a year and a half ago. I had made a New Year's resolution for myself for 2008 that may sound crazy to some of you out there, but it's indicative of the point I'd reached. I resolved to get over my crazy anxiety and start driving again. You see, I had sold my car in 2004 for financial reasons, and I still say that was one of the best decisions I ever made. I signed up for Zipcar (car sharing) and rented a car a few times in that first year or so. But then, months went by... and suddenly years went by... and I hadn't driven in nearly 2 years. At all. And I found that whenever I started to think about it, I got really anxious and afraid that somehow I wouldn't be able to do it again - that I'd suddenly be a nervous driver and a danger on the road or something. I don't know where this came from, truly, but there it was. In my mind, I somehow went from "I don't drive" to "I won't drive" to "I can't drive."

And in the summer of 2007, there was a major health crisis in my family... and that's when I realized that I had to change. Because if they had needed me to come home (which it turns out they didn't, and everything turned out okay thank goodness), I would have been more of a burden than a help. I'd worked myself up into thinking I *couldn't* drive, and that I would then be unable to provide the kind of support my loved ones might need. I felt both helpless and ashamed, all inside my head. That's when I realized I was being ridiculous. I remember saying to myself "you are a strong, confident, accomplished, independent woman. Get over yourself!" So, I made that resolution and I did indeed start renting cars again and... guess what? I can still drive just fine. And that whole mental block is gone, and hopefully I've learned enough about myself to keep something like that from cropping up again.

Okay... last time we're going back in time... but back to a year ago, I was also finally (FINALLY my friends would say) realizing that I had wasted way too much time believing and hoping that a certain relationship I had was or would ever be more than it was... and that what it actually was was really not very good at all. How much time? Five years, off and on. Egad. Again, with a moment of "this is ridiculous!" clarity, I put an end to it... almost exactly around the same time I moved into this apartment, which was a nice clean break all around.

So... all of this is to bring us back to my realization that over the past year, while I have been working hard to try to improve my lifestyle in the physical sense, I have also made great strides in improving my mental and emotional health as well. And this year has been great for me! I *love* my apartment. I love having friends over. I love just sitting here spending time on my own, puttering around in the kitchen or on the balcony. I cook! I garden! I love this neighborhood, and I feel so much safer than at my old place.

I've really spent all this time slowly bringing the focus back to me, and deciding that I no longer need to settle for anything less than what I deserve. I AM a strong, confident, accomplished and independent woman! And while the permanently single status does get to me sometimes, I tell you honestly that I would not trade for the world any of my strength, confidence, accomplishments, or independence just to be in *some* relationship...rather than the *right* relationship. And I truly believe that someday I'll find someone who completely agrees... but until then, I'm content being happy on my own, and finding new ways to explore who I am.

Pretty good stuff, eh? :-)

NOT ATKINS - Carbs

2009-06-08T13:14:00.002-04:00

I was going to respond in the comments stef but this warrants a full post. I am right there will your nutritionist on watching the carbs. Once again, don't go all Atkins about it because that's just crazy-talk. But making sure you have enough carbs but not too much is a good thing.

For most people, they should have around 180 grams of carbs per day. 45 per meal for 3 meals and 15 per snack for two snacks. So what does 45 grams of carbs look like?

1 cup of white rice or pasta
3 cups of yogurt
3 apples
3 cups of berries
1/2 cup of flour
1/4 cup of white sugar
1 slices of whole wheat bread.
3 corn tortillas
2 flour tortillas (not burrito sized)
1 cup of beans

Looking at the list for me, I've come to love vegetables, yogurt, and corn tortillas. On top of that, whole wheat is awesome because you subtract the fiber content form the number of carbs. What has been surprising to me (and to J) is how easily 1 cup of pasta can fill you up. The thing is, vegetables (aside from root style vegetables like butternut squash) have negligible carb content. When you do a fried rice and even do 2/3 a cup of brown rice but with chopped carrots, tofu, shredded chicken or shrimp, onions, red peppers and bean sprouts, that's a meal that will make you loosen your belt. Last night, I made a great pasta dish from leftover turkey cutlets that I simmered in a tomato sauce. I did 2 cups of cavatappi (2 servings of the dish) and sauteed spinach, carrots and onions and added about four cutlets worth of lean turkey. That was a filling to the brim pasta bowl serving of pasta. With a salad, that was a filling meal.

Like stef's nutritionist said, do eliminate carbs. They are good. But It's useful to be conscious about how much. While I monitor my carb intake through grams of carbs, other diabetics I know do it through glycemic index numbers. If anyone has any advice on how that works, feel free to chime in.

Tweaks

2009-06-06T20:29:00.002-04:00

One of the things my nutritionist said I should work on is cutting down on the starches. This isn't Atkins, she's very clear about that, but again it's all about trying to eat the right things at the right times to improve my nutrition and overall health. And the truth is I was eating way too much starch, and that was a major factor in putting on and keeping the pounds.

I used to eat large servings of pasta-based dishes probably 3-5 times a week. And lots of bready sandwiches for lunch, with cookies and chips. Pretty much every meal I had included some starchy element.

So I've been working on this, and I've been making some real improvements. When I am eating pasta, I'm eating less of it and bulking up the sauce with more veggies or adding a side salad to fill me up.

And, I've been making a lot of meals that just don't need a carb at all. That stir fry I make with the beef and sugar snap peas? No rice needed, it's perfectly tasty and filling on its own. One of my usual old dishes - spinach sauteed in olive oil with cannellini beans all over pasta, sometimes with chicken - actually is even better as a soup made with low-sodium chicken broth, no pasta needed.

Tonight, I made a fantastic dinner - a grilled steak with DCFB's recommended sauteed asparagus as a side. In the past, I would've made a potato to go with it, or a boxed version of parmesan couscous or noodles. But the starch is totally not needed, cuz it was a satisfying meal all on its own.

It's all about trying new things, and I'm enjoying these new, less-starchy meals. So is my waistline.

Pic of me in my Bay to Breakers Costume

2009-06-02T18:15:00.002-04:00

I was hoping to see if one of the race photographers caught a pic of me but it appears not. Here's a pi of my in my Bay to Breakers outfit. It's 6:00 am. Not a bad rendition of a Nickelodeon cartoon character. A

The Spa Staycation

2009-06-02T12:14:00.005-04:00

I'm nothing if not a trend followerer and in this economy the staycation makes a lot of sense. Stef, in her other blog asked her readers about what they would do for a staycation in DC. The idea of a weeklong staycation sounds awesome. So I am giving stef my idea of a spa staycation in DC.

Here's some guidelines. That money you were going to spend on hotel and travel, use a tiny chunk of it and get someone to clean your apartment. No, seriously. The first time I had Shirley, my cleaning woman, clean my apartment with J, I giggled at the sight of a spotless apartment that I had no hand in cleaning. One assumption I am making is that you will have an easy morning and nothign really will be happening until 11:00 am at the earliest.

Here's the schedule:

Friday - Get the house cleaned!

Saturday - Get provisions: fruit from the farmer's market. Some good fresh bread from Marvelous Market. Hummus, tzatziki, carrots, and grape tomatoes. A small bottle of good olive oil.

Sunday - The fun begins
Sleep in and informal breakfast
Lunch at Teaism
Walk from Teaism to Dunbarton Oaks and look at the most beautiful garden in DC
Dinner at Dino (they have a great prix fixe for $25)

Monday - Spa day. Take advantage of the fact you'll get an appointment because everyone else will be working
Sleep in and brunch at home
Half day at Serenity Day Spa in Tenleytown (since it's affiliated with Sport and Health Club, you all get a one day pass there)
1 hour of exercise at Sport and Health
Dinner at Lebanese Taverna

Tuesday - Veg out day
Grocery run for snacks
Stay in during the day and watch one season of Buffy
Beginning modern dance improv class at Joy of Motion Dance studio
Take out sushi from Spices (also the Wafu salad is to die for!)
More Buffy

Wednesday - Feeding your mind
Lunch at the Museum of the American Indian Food court (avoid the Fry Bread!)
Look up at http://www.si.edu/events/onetime.htm the Smithsonian one time events. they have tons of stuff going on every day
Dinner in - perhaps broiled tilapia and roasted asparagus?
After dinner: Take the bus up to Politics and Prose and go browsing

Thursday - back to Nature
Morning walk into Rock Creek park (there's a trailhead right in between Van Ness and Cleveland Park)
Lunch at home
The National Zoo
Dinner at home - Salad with a lemon vinaigrette and sauteed shrimp. With bread on the side.

Friday - Day of Beauty
Lunch at home
Spa day at Elizabeth Arden in Friendship Heights
Dinner at Central

Saturday - Yum!
Ok Stef. It's time to step up to the plate and do some entertaining! But I'll make sure you are well supplied and give you a menu where the only cooking is slicing some tomatoes and cooking a steak!

A visit to the Cheverly Farmer's market in the morning to get provisions for a dinner for four
- bread
- salad greens
- grape tomatoes
- cucumbers
- sugar snap peas
- red onions
- fresh fruit in season
- cheese for a cheese plate
Stop by Eastern Market to get a nice flank steak (1 1/2 pounds)
Lunch at Cafe Atlantico where you will get their Latin Dim Sum
Chill out for the afternoon and recover form the enormous lunch
Dinner at home
- cheese plate with bread, grape tomatoes and cheeses (I'd suggest a nice aged gouda, stilton, and a goat cheese
- steak salad (salt and pepper the flank steak, grill in a super hot pan for 4 minutes on either side, let rest under foil and slice as thinly as possible agaisnt the grain). Salad with a balsamic vinaigrette, salad greens, cucumber and sugar snap peas.
- sliced fruit over ice cream for dessert.

Sunday - Feel refreshed yet?

Pretty As a Picture

2009-06-01T21:29:00.005-04:00

I decided to use some of that asparagus from the farmers' market tonight for this interesting tilapia recipe I found... it's one of those recipes where you cook everything in a foil packet. Fun! Here is the recipe from HungryGirl.

And here it is on my plate - surviving an easy transfer from the oven foil packet to plate with a nice big spatula. This was really tasty, and even though it looks as fancy as a restaurant meal it was very easy to make. One note, though: this needs more than 15 minutes to cook. Give it 20 and check.

Yesterday I dug into some more of my farmers' market finds - here's a gorgeous big salad I had for lunch, topped with cucumbers and tomatoes and a bit of goat cheese. I made my own vinaigrette, with fresh dill, scallions, olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic powder, and black pepper. Delicious, and so fresh it all just made me happy.

So that goal thing...

2009-05-31T22:00:00.002-04:00

Thanks Stef for posting the NYT article on the yo-yo of celebrity dieting. I've been thinking about it a lot. First there's Oprah, and then Kirstie Alley, Valerie Bertinelli, you'd better not get off of Jenny Craig of you're so screwed! But seriously, I am hardly an expert on dieting but please folks, stay away from any weight loss plan that involves anyone else making your meals. Because at the end of the day, you haven't LEARNED anything. That's a huge piece for me of this whole health thing. It's been less about pounds on the scale and more about learning things. Learning to snack. Learning to portion. Learning to NOT exercise and pace myself. Without the learning, what happens when you achieve the magic number?

Aaaand since, stef is talking numbers I've got some of my own. I reached the weight loss number my doctor (NOT my nutritionist) said I needed to control my diabetes. What is hilarious is that my glucose numbers were actually better ten pounds ago.

Here's some goals I've met:

1. Get glucose in normal range - Hell yeah!
2. Run Bay to Breakers - In costume no less
3. Get more fruit and vegetables in - I can eat my five servings in a single meal when I get my big salad

But it doesn't stop. I still keep a food log. I still test three times a day. I still eat enough vegetables to keep my farmer's market in business. But knowing I need to maintain the weight and not lose it, I've made some changes.

1. Cut the 7 mile run to 6 miles.
2. If you aren't feeling it, cut the five mile run to a 8:30-paced 5k.
3. Eat a croissant sandwich when work has a breakfast meeting.
4. Eat 45 grams of carbs in sushi form.

But still enjoy the rewards. I'll tell you this, on reason why I love exercising is the rewards I give myself after - 15 minute chair massage or 15 minutes sitting in the gym hot tub. How can I not look forward to working out knowing that's at the end of the gym session?

Now, however, I've stopped working my ass off. Literally.

Poor Role Models

2009-05-31T19:04:00.002-04:00

Good article from the NYT about how obsession over celebrities' weight just adds to the negative messages and psychological factors affecting weight loss:

Fashion & Style
Bingeing on Celebrity Weight Battles
By JAN HOFFMAN
Published: May 31, 2009
The dieting sagas of the stars might be more frustrating than inspiring to overweight women.