It Happened This Week: Depressing Chocolate, Lane Bryant’s Victory, and the Fat Trap
Credit: Darwin Bell via Flickr
In “Depressed People Eat More Chocolate,” NPR reported that “researchers have connected chocolate to a person’s darker moods, but possibly as a cause, not a cure.” Wow, feeling down makes women eat more? Since when is that news?
Small victory: The controversial Lane Bryant ad for “plus-sized lingerie” that Cindy wrote about finally aired this week on FOX during American Idol.
The New York Times weighs in on an age-old debate. Does less sleep equal more weight? Let’s just say you might want to bed early tonight…
Precious star and Oscar nominee Gabourey Sidibe hosted Saturday Night Live this week, while in the Huffington Post, Robin Quivers defended her conversation with Howard Stern in which they said the star’s weight was bound to inhibit her acting career. Quivers makes a lot of assumptions about Sidibe’s eating habits that aren’t necessarily true. Here at GM, we believe that the focus should be on health independent of size. And, we might add, why is it OK at all to keep talking about Sidibe’s weight at all? For more on that, you might want to check out our popular post about Jessica Simpson.
Michelle Madhok writes “5 Pieces to Wear on a Fat Day” for the Huffington Post. While it’s easy to fall into the “fat day” trap, it’s counterproductive to focus on that. Instead, focus on feeling and looking your best, even if you don’t have the idealized body shape. While we don’t like to promote negative self talk, despite falling into the “fat” trap, Madhok offered us a few valid wardrobe solutions to look our best when feeling less than great.
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- It Happened this Week: Carrie Underwood, “The Fat Trap,” and The War on Salt
Do You Cleanse Your Body?
I’m not talking about cleansing on the outside but cleansing for the inside. I have heard about various types of cleanses and know of people who do them at least once a year. Some people perform a cleanse to help with weight loss while others use them for health purposes. I have heard of cleanses that last from 3 days to over a week or longer. Some are liquid based meaning drinking nothing but juice, shakes, etc., while others are food based (salads, fruit.)
I have never tried a cleanse but some people swear by them. I think it is important to take care of our inside just as well as our outside. That means eating well and cutting back or eliminating junk food.
Detoxing the body has been around for a long time and celebrities often bring popularity to them when they have used one to lose weight. My question is, do they really have any positive effect on the body? I read up on some dangers of following a cleanse. Some possible risks include:
- Vitamin deficiencies
- Muscle breakdown
- Blood-sugar problems
- Frequent liquid bowel movements
I have also read that there is no evidence that cleansing is helpful and that our bodies do a good job on their own in terms of removing toxins.
Do you think a cleanse is important for a healthy lifestyle? Have you ever tried a cleanse?
[Resource: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18595886/]
Healthy Cooking Thursday: Pomegranate Vinaigrette
Sexy Pomegranate Seeds
Pomegranates are an ancient superfood that have generated a lot of buzz in recent years due to their high concentration of antioxidants, but they have long been used in Ayurvedic treatments and in many other medical applications, including everything from treating cataracts to preventing hemorrhoids, erectile dysfunction, and cancer. Some argue that the pomegranate was the original Tree of Life in Eden; the goddess Persephone of Greek mythology was tricked to stay in Hades due to the temptations of a sultry pomegranate. Between its beauty, amazing tangy-sweet flavor, and rumored and/or scientifically proven health benefits, the pomegranate has a lot to offer. But boy, it can certainly be an exercise in mindfulness to harvest the yummy seeds out of one of these suckers.
So for the modern enthusiast of nutritious food, I offer this recipe for a pomegranate vinaigrette. Pomegranate juice is readily available in many supermarkets, usually in the refrigerated produce section, and is a great way to enjoy the benefits of this wonderful, mythical fruit without all the time-consuming work. I recommend using this dressing on bitter greens, such as in a salad of arugula and baby spinach, maybe with some dried cranberries or mandarin orange segments and crumbled blue cheese or feta. Mmmm…
Pomegranate Vinaigrette
Combine in a blender:
1/2 cup pomegranate juice
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar (white wine vinegar or raspberry vinegar would work well too)
1 T dry mustard
pinch of salt
When well blended, add:
2/3 cup canola oil
Blend again until emulsified. Stir in by hand:
1/3 tsp dried tarragon (optional)
freshly ground black pepper to taste
I’ll soon be trying out this dressing as a marinade for grilled pork tenderloin; pork and tangy fruit were made to be together! What are your favorite pairings for the delicious flavor of pomegranate?
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Making Healthy Eating Easier: Batch Cooking
Anyone who has met me at Green Mountain at Fox Run knows I’m an obsessed with batch cooking and freezing. The last thing I want to do at the end of the day is prepare dinner, so I do it on the weekends. Here are the things I love about batch cooking:
- Dinner is ready in 5 microwave minutes.
- I know exactly what went into my frozen meal because it was made by moi.
- Portions are easier to deal with since I freeze single servings.
- My husband and I can eat two totally different meals, since my freezer is PACKED with many different options.
- It makes it easier to increase your intake of a specific food group, say perhaps, veggies??
If you want to experiment with batch cooking, here are a few tips:
- Organize your freezer – I keep plastic bins in my freezer for each food group. It’s much easier to find items that way.
- Freeze individual portions so you don’t have 12 servings of something stuck together (I like using muffin tins to freeze grains, soups, fruit compote, etc.. since they hold about 1/2 a cup).
- Focus on a different food group each weekend so you have all that’s needed for a balanced meal, using the Green Mountain Plate Model.
- Keep items simple and season AFTER you reheat. That way you don’t get bored with eating the same thing over and over. Herbs, spices, salsas, vinaigrettes, and pestos (which can be frozen in an ice cube tray) are good things to have on hand in order to doctor up your pre-cooked grains and proteins.
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Network Execs Act Like Boobs Over Boobs
Some of you may have already heard all the fuss around a Lane Bryant lingerie ad which didn’t hit the airways last week because it was deemed to be of an inappropriate nature. ABC pulled the ad (which was to run during “Dancing With The Stars”) and FOX demanded “excessive edits” for the ad which was to run during the highly viewed, “Idol Gives Back” . Needless to say, Ms. Bryant is fighting mad!
Before we go on, check out the Lane Bryant ad here, and see for yourself.
First of all, if ABC doesn’t have a problem with sexy, super toned dancers flipping upside down half nekid every Monday night on Dancing With The Stars, then why would a little plus-sized (that’s debatable in and of itself), breast and thighs cause such an uproar? Is it a double standard?
FOX has repeatedly run ads through the years for Victoria Secret, and if you’ve seen any number of their commercials, you’re perfectly aware that boobs, bums and bellies are a plenty. The difference? You tell me…Victoria Secret, The Nakeds.
Personally, I’m not so sure it’s a double standard as much as it’s a question of boobs. Clearly, the only difference between underwear commercials (Victoria Secret vs. Lane Bryant) is the size of the model’s breasts. More breast equals a higher quotient of tawdry, perversion, what exactly?
Are we so provincial, or simply scared of big, beautiful women in their underwear?
You can read more about the whole scandalous affair on Stylelist.com.
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What The Heck Is Self-Acceptance…
Last summer Karen C.L. Anderson of the blog Why Weight: A Real Life “Before” and After Story shared on A Weight Lifted a story of her personal journey towards self-acceptance. Her post today looks at how things have changed in a little less than a year. What a difference a year makes….
We’re excited for Karen because she has moved beyond weight to look at her health, which is what our new Food as Medicine program is all about. Her story is a good example of the kinds of explorations that go on with a food as medicine/functional medicine approach. And we love her “mindstyle” change.
What The Heck Is Self-Acceptance…
…and why does it look so different today than it did a year ago?
So last summer Marsha Hudnall asked me to write a guest blog post about self-acceptance for A Weight Lifted. At the time, I was in the midst of finding my way from “struggle” (because I had lost 55 pounds only to regain 20) to “acceptance” on my own blog.
Recently I came across what I had written back then. As I read it, I smiled, nodded my head and thought, “gee, I thought I had it all figured out.” Here’s an excerpt:
“…now that I have the self-acceptance thing going, I have found myself much more willing to do the things I know are good for my body. My eyes are opened and I find myself embracing what used to seem like drudgery: counting calories, making sure I eat enough protein and fiber, avoiding ‘white’ foods. These are all the things that support healthy weight loss, but for some reason, I had been unwilling to do them consistently. Could it be that my lack of self-acceptance made me unwilling?
Earlier this year, in one of my darker moments, I wrote “I am on a quest for the sweet spot – that balance between a healthy body weight (and image) and self acceptance right now.” Add to that the idea that if I view this (“this” being that quest) as a struggle…as a fight to be fought, then that’s exactly what I’ll get.
It’s been slow going but I think I have finally hit that sweet spot. First came self-acceptance, even though my body is still heavier than I would like it to be. From that came a real desire to discover what drives the carb cravings and ‘false hunger’ that seem to derail me every time, that create that ‘struggle’ and make me feel like a failure.”
What I see in those words now is not actual self-acceptance but a desperate attempt to feel it in order to lose weight. I see a woman who is trying hard to feel something she doesn’t in order to follow rules that lead her back to feeling unacceptable. Do you see that?
Since then a lot has happened.
Out of curiosity, and at the suggestion of my chiropractor, I decided to see a naturopathic physician in November. I didn’t have any specific or serious concerns at the time, but thought it would be neat to take a different approach to my health, especially considering that I am entering “that” time of my life (I am 47).
I came off birth control pills after having been on them for 25 years, was diagnosed with Lyme Disease, discovered that my hormones are out of whack (along with my thyroid and adrenal functions), and that I have a few other relatively minor but impactful health issues (like Epstein-Barr virus).
Now, above, I wrote that I went into this without specific or serious concerns, but in hindsight, I realize that I was, indeed, not feeling my best. And, of course, at the back of my mind was the thought that, perhaps, the naturopath might uncover the reason I am fat (not much self-acceptance there, eh?).
And so in many ways, all of these diagnoses were a relief because it explained why I wasn’t feeling my best, physically or emotionally. In other ways, however, it was scary and I wondered if I’d be able to heal and feel normal again.
On a related note, though, over the past few months I have noticed that I feel peace, balance, and sense of control around food. I have no desire to binge and “false hunger” seems to be a thing of the past. I eat more slowly and I sense fullness appropriately. I don’t say this with an “it-will-never-happen-again-I-am-cured-hallelujah” sense of finality. It’s an acknowledgment that I have reached what feels like a new “normal.”
More than anything, I think this has to do with the overall balance my body has achieved through the holistic and homeopathic approach of naturopathic medicine.
But it also involves developing what I now call a “mindstyle change”…yeah, like a lifestyle change but for the mind. In many ways, big and small, I’ve changed my mind about a lot of things that were weighing me down. I’ve exposed myself to new people, new thoughts, new ways of being. I’ve tweaked the way I think and feel about myself, my family, friends and other aspects of my life. I’ve had opportunities to reach out, reach in, reach over, reach under…and I’ve been taking advantage of them.
I’ve filled my heart and mind with so much awareness and love that many of the behaviors I tend to fall back on to distract me from “what is” seem to have taken a back seat…lately. None is this is brand new to me…it’s been a long time coming. It’s something I’ve been experimenting with and practicing consistently. It’s something that I knew needed to be done. It’s something I know I have to continue to do.
This isn’t about being perfect in either lifestyle or mindstyle. It’s not about saying, “I’ll never eat cheese and crackers again” or “I’ll never be pissed off at X again.” It doesn’t require making huge sweeping changes all at once. It suggests being open, accepting, forgiving, and willing. It suggests understanding that I may not always feel like being open, accepting, forgiving, and willing.
And so acceptance has taken on a whole new meaning.
The big difference between me then and me now is that I am happy to feel my feelings for their own sake and not for any other reason. The “sweet spot” has changed too. It’s not about weight, but plain old health and feeling well.
This shift has given me the ability to accept what is, most importantly my self. When I lost those 55 pounds I thought I was as much in love with myself as I could ever be. Who knew that regaining some of that weight would help me love myself even more?
And in being more compassionate and forgiving of myself, I am now able to be more compassionate and forgiving with others. My relationships are richer as a result.
It has given me patience and the understanding that two steps forward and one step back is part of the process. And sometimes it two steps forward and two or three steps back. I recognize that nothing is permanent. And that’s okay.
photo by bcnunnery via stock.xchng
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Fat Loss Made Easy. 5 Things That Can Help You Lose Weight and Boost Your Metabolism
This is a guest post by:
Rafi Bar-Lev is the founder of Passionate Fitness, a community based fitness and weight loss site with forums and personal profiles. Check it out!
For many people, fat loss is an elusive beast. They know that it’s possible and have seen it in others, but have yet to find the way to get it going for themselves.
Luckily, I’m going to let you in on 5 tips that will help you boost your metabolism and finally get the body you desire:
#1. Burn fat at the supermarket by shopping full. Many people make the mistake of going to the supermarket hungry. When you do that, you’ll be more prone to buy junk and foods that you shouldn’t be eating. By doing that, you’ve already set yourself up for failure before you’ve even begin dieting. If bad foods are around your house – you’ll eat them. So don’t buy them at the supermarket, and keep them out of your home.
#2. Sprint. High intensity interval training has been shown to boost fat loss and improve your bodies metabolism. What you do is sprint for 50 meters or 55 yards, and rest for 30 seconds and repeat 4-8 times depending on your fitness level. The cool thing about this exercise is not only will it help you lose fat, but it will also give you a strong butt.
#3. Swim. Swimming is one of those things that everyone knows is amazing but everyone is reluctant to talk about. It is excellent for a few reasons. For one, it is one of the highest calorie burning activities that a human being can participate in. It also strengthens you while relaxing you at the same time. And lastly, knowing you’re going to be in your bathing suit is a great motivator to get into great shape.
#4. Hang out with fit people. Peer pressure affects all of us, and hanging out with fit people and emulating their lifestyle is a great way to ensure that you’ll get in amazing shape. When you are with people who are eating healthily and exercising – chances are that you will as well.
#5. Keep trying. The most important tip that I can give you is to keep trying. Even if something doesn’t seem to be working in the beginning or you’re frustrated, you need to just keep moving forward.
Good luck!
It Happened this Week: Carrie Underwood, “The Fat Trap,” and The War on Salt
Credit: the.diet.starts.monday via flick
A refreshing idea came from Country Music Award winner Carrie Underwood (pictured): she is not going on a pre-wedding diet. Instead, she stresses feeling good above all. “I’m taking care of myself, which is what I always hope to do.”
For the first time ever, the FDA is close to instituting legal limits on the salt content in processed foods, reports the Washington Post. Our take? Simply cutting back on the amount of processed food eaten would accomplish the same thing while providing a lot of valuable nutrition in the process.
Peggy Orenstein writes, “The Fat Trap,” a thought-provoking essay on food and motherhood in the New York Times.
And, from our archives, “Spring Cleaning on the Inside,” a guest post by Cammy of The Tippy Toe Diet blog.
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Start Exercising Again – The Easiest Way to Get Started
Have you been a couch potato for far too long or wish you could fit more exercise into your lifestyle? There are so many ways to get started again from walking a couple of times a week to hiring a personal trainer. Yet, so many things can get in the way of starting. The biggest obstacle being time. After a long day at work, it can be tough heading to the gym.
If you’re not a morning person, waking up even earlier to get to the gym is not an option either. Once you make it home, you may want to spend quality time with your family. When can you possibly fit in a workout? There is a solution for people in a time-crunch that doesn’t involve monthly gym fees, can be done right at home, and get you results.
All that is required is a small space to workout, dvd player, and television. You guessed right, home fitness programs on dvd. You may think, I won’t have motivation to work out at home. I used to think the same way. I belonged to a gym and went about 3 days a week on average.
Now I workout 5 to 6 days a week from home. It saves me money and I’m still getting a very good workout. Here’s how you can start:
- Choose several good fitness programs on dvd (click here for excellent programs)
- Build a library of various programs for variety.
- Choose one to start with and stick with it for 30 days or longer.
- Log your workouts into a calendar.
- Log your progress (starting weight, measurements, end weight, etc.)
Why Build a Library of Programs?
I recommend building a library of fitness programs over time so that you can change up your routines. It prevents boredom and gives you options of workouts in between other workouts you may like doing (walking, swimming, etc.)
Why 30 Days or Longer?
I say stick with a program for at least 30 days because by the time you have reached day 30, exercise should be a healthy habit that you don’t think twice about doing.
How Will You Fit In Working Out at Home?
This is the easy part. You can workout when you want because you are at home. You can wait until everyone is asleep. You can workout as soon as you make it home – it’s all about flexibility and home fitness provides that.
Why Log Everything?
This makes it easy to look back on all of your hard work. You can track how much weight you’ve lost, how often you exercise, how strong you’ve become, etc.
I started out using a program called Power 90. I stuck with it for the entire 90 days and moved on to other programs. I still use it in my workout routines.
Will exercising at home work for everyone? Maybe not but it’s worth a try. If it gets you to bring exercise back into your life then it is a success!
Healthy Cooking Thursday! Simple Lamb Rub
I love lamb. I could eat no other red meat the rest of my life if it was guaranteed lamb would be abundant. But I know that I am not exactly “normal” (no comments from the peanut gallery, please) and that many folks do not appreciate lamb’s unique flavor, or understand how to season it appropriately. Personally, I love to grill lamb. It chars beautifully, thanks in part to the abundant fat contained therein, which dissipates from the meat in grilling more than other cooking methods would allow.
With that in mind, I developed the simple rub that follows. I recommend getting some ground lamb, molding it into patties just as you would for beef burgers, and coating both sides liberally with this rub about 20 minutes before throwing it on the grill. It would work for other applications as well, such as similarly grilled chicken, pork, turkey, beef, tofu, or shrimp; stirred into rice or other grains or pasta; or sprinkled on veggies like cauliflower, squash, or kale before roasting. Its gentle, slightly Middle Eastern flair adds a little earthiness to the lamb without overshadowing its glorious inherent flavor.
Lamb Rub
2 parts garlic powder
1 part turmeric
1 part (freshly ground, if possible) cumin
1 part salt
Combine all seasonings well in an airtight container. Use as necessary.
Wait a second! I thought lamb was high in saturated fat! Well, part of healthy eating is practicing the permission to eat awesome food in moderation, and knowing how to make those choices totally worth it.
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