Posterous theme by Cory Watilo

Filed under: health

my runner's high....

I have never loved running as much as I do at this point in my life.  I have been a runner for a few years now but I feel like I'm finally at the point that I can take myself seriously doing it.  My legs are finally really strong (thanks mostly to BodyPump...woot woot!!!) and I'm having less injuries.  I'm also finally at a weight that I'm okay with and I feel "lighter" on my feet I guess you could say.  But most of all, it's where I run and the scenery I take in on those runs that makes it so meaningful to me.  You see things on foot that you don't see from a car...you notice things and you take in the sounds and smells of it all... 
 
I love that it's that time of year that I have to dodge toddlers being pulled in red wagons on the sidewalk (happened twice today)!  I see lemonade stands, fathers and sons playing catch, mothers pushing strollers, sidewalk chalk masterpieces...  I've learned people's dogs and kids...I know that the blond headed boy down the street wants a Jack Russell and his parents are big Texas fans...he also does alot of sidewalk chalking!  I pick up the newspaper on almost every run and put it atop a set of steep front steps where an elderly woman lives.  She once asked me for help when I was jogging past ...and she said Emmett looked "handsome and regal!!!"  I like the thought of her opening her door and her newspaper being there waiting for her....without having to struggle with those stairs and bending over.  She probably doesn't remember me (it was over a year ago that she stopped me for help) and it doesn't matter.  It makes me feel good.  I love watching things change...additions and improvements to my favorite houses, pink and blue bows put up on front doors :)   I guess this is alot less about running specifically but these are things I wouldn't know if I wasn't constantly out running past these people and places and things.  Experiencing my surroundings in this way helps me feel more connected to it...more rooted there.  I feel like I belong there. 
 
Running makes me feel strong...something about saying "I ran 6 (or 7 or 8) miles today" makes me feel accomplished and proud.  But running also makes me feel more connected to nature.  I guess it's like I said before...when you are on foot and out of the car, you become more a part of everything around you.  It feels more primitive..like going back to a place where all we had to get around were our two legs.  Perhaps this is just the endorphins talking!  I don't know.  But anyway...I feel people have become too cut off from those around them...with our schedules and jobs and nightly lineup of tv shows.  But getting out and walking or jogging keeps you engaged with those around you.  Trust me...I know the "isolators" in my neighborhood.  I've lived there 2 years and I can count on one hand how many times I've seen them.  They can't be happy people ...
 
I also laugh at myself because I probably look like some sort of tech-geek-in-laces" -- ridiculously large 5th gen iPod on upper right arm, BodyBugg on upper left, BodyBugg display and left wrist, Road ID wristband on right wrist....and house key tied to my right shoe laces.  But at least I don't wear one of those stupid running belts with the water bottles and other attachments.  It's like the athletic, nerdy cousin to the fanny pack.  If I need water I stop at V. Richard's and hit the water fountain. 
 
I also love when I go on vacation and I get to take in some foreign city on foot...discover neat buildings and out of the way places....  But to me, there is nothing worse than running on a track or around a park, over and over, or in some neighborhood where all the houses are identical.  To me, that's no better than the treadmill.  Give me a destination, give me a city and sidewalks and life that's constantly on the move.  Ah...I love it!
 
So I guess my point is that running is great.  And I have some nerdy spiritual connection to it.  I just thought I'd share.  :)

 

Let's be rational people...

I have tried very hard to keep my composure and hold my tongue through the insanity of the political climate of late but I don't think I can continue to do so at this juncture.  Immediately after the passing of health care reform in the house, FB blew up with statements like "THIS IS WAR", "KILL THEM ALL", "REBELLION NOW".  I am not exaggerating and if you are reading this and you are one of those people I'm very sorry but you said it...not me.  I'm not one of those people who thinks badly of people who having opposing political views than mine.  I value and appreciate diversity in all arenas, believe it promotes change and growth, etc etc.  But what bothers me the most, are people who don't think for themselves.  People who hear something or read something in an email forward and go around spewing it as if it were fact.  They only regurgitate what they hear and don't do any thinking for themselves.  I used to be one of those people.  Sadly.  I love you mom but....  I was raised by in a household where I was taught that we were republicans and that's just the way it was, and democrats were bad.  Seriously.  But I never knew why.  Never really knew why we were republicans or what we really stood for.  And let me take this moment to apologize to Dr. Kristen Gilbert whom I know valued me as a student, and was pretty sure I had some intelligence in that head of mine...but who had to witness my own ignorant regurgitation of republican talking points without really understanding what was behind them.  As you can see, Dr. G, I have finally begun to do some thinking for myself.  Anyhoo, moving on...even today when I try to have an intelligent discussion with my mother about politics she gets frustrated and says "I'm not informed enough to have a debate with you on this right now...I have to look into that and get back to you."  I love you mom but you do.  I have witnesses ;)
 
So, I hope I have adequately established that I respect people of both sides and have many republicans in my life whom I love dearly...most notably my entire family.  But the folks who are taking this to an extreme are ruining it for everyone.  The violent and hostile RHETORIC is scary to say the least.  And it's all coming out of fear...scare tactics and lies that are being circulated to promote an agenda.  Our democracy is not collapsing, our president is not muslim, he is an american, our world is not ending, there are no 'death panels', there is no need to 'clean your guns'...GUNS? SERIOUSLY? I am not going to sit here and breakdown the health care bill point for point or defend all the lies about it.  There are plenty of other people making that defense at the moment.  My point is the insanity of all of this.  Do your research, read the bill, get multiple points of view from reputable sources.... don't just read something in a propagandized email then jump on FB and declare some idiotic call to war.  Instead, like Luke Lucas said, get off of Facebook and do a little research, get involved...
 
I have to make this one last point...
 
I find it interesting, too, that the abortion issue seems to be such a focal point for republicans.  It seems to be there go-to when they are confronted.  I was told last night that I support killing babies.  How the hell do you know?  Because I am liberal, I am automatically FOR killing babies?  I don't believe anyone is FOR killing babies.  And if you knew what I did for a living you might assume I would feel quite the opposite...but that's beside the point.  Just because I am liberal, I voted for Obama, does not mean I am PRO abortion.  Most of us aren't.  I am FOR women's reproductive rights and SAFETY.  I am PRO freedom of choice.  Choice...freedom...isn't that what you are all thinking is being 'taken' away with health care reform?  You want the government out of your life, but yet you don't want women to have the ability to choose what to do with their own bodies nor do you want regulation and safety of a procedure that is going to occur regardless. 
 
And one last thing... I work with severely abused and neglected children..most of whom were born drug addicted and had been exposed to drugs and alcohol in utero.  The mothers of these children were often junkies who had sex with men for drugs and repeatedly got pregnant as a result.  These women often had multiple arrests for drugs or prostitution.  The babies were born and instead of giving them up, they kept them (without offending anyone I'll let you figure out the logic behind that one).  They kept them and they abused them, neglected them...or eventually, as with some of the kids I have now, allowed men to have sex with them for more drugs.  These are not made up stories, exaggerated or isolated incidents.  These are real things that are happening to children every day and it is documented.  Well documented.  In my daily life I hear these stories and I deal with the damage.  These children have severe emotional, cognitive, developmental and social issues as a result of not only the drugs but the abuse, neglect, lack of nurturing, and the effects of a poorly managed foster care system (that's a whole different blog altogether).  In addition, these children are now in custody of the state and your money is essentially paying my salary.  I would be the first to say this...if you have had multiple arrests for drug related crimes or prostitution, if you have multiple children, if you have many of your children that have already been taken by DHR and my tax dollars are going to pay for them...then you should lose your right to reproduce.  Right?  Drugs + lack of respect for human life + you already abused and neglected several previous children = you don't get to have any more...SIMPLE.  And I know lots and lots of republicans who agree with me on this point.  But OH NO...we can't allow the government to get involved in personal freedoms and what we do with our bodies.  BUT yet you want the government to tell me I can't have an abortion or that it has to be done dangerously.  Am I the only one who sees the hypocrisy here? 

Twinkies, Medicaid...sadness

I don't mean to be annoying with my "everyone should be healthier" spills but this is my blog, dammit, and I want to rant about it so I will......

I am so sick of walking through the grocery store and seeing the crap people are buying and feeding their families. It really disgusts me. I know...I don't want to be that person who lectures everyone about their health...and I don't really. And this might sound a tad...um...something... but here goes. Our welfare and medicaid system is being drained... by many people with health issues related to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, etc. MY hard earned money is footing the bill. So it royally pisses me off to see people who are clearly taking advantage of that system next to me in the check out line with nothing but sugary, fatty, processed foods in their shopping carts. For instance...last night in walmart two women who probably weighed at least 350 pounds each were in the line next to me. I was buying dishwashing detergent and toilet paper as I don't buy groceries from walmart...but that's not the point. I look over and take a gander at their buggy. Soda...not diet (not that it would be any better for them)...sugary cereals, little debbie snacks, chips, frozen pizza, cookies, hamburger helper....CRAP. ALL CRAP...NOT FOOD. Not a single f'n vegetable. Maybe a canned one somewhere but it was probably hidden beneath the bags of chips so I couldn't see it. And it was probably corn...don't get me started on corn. I drive home and see all the cars in the line at the fast food restaurants and I want to scream. Seeing Food, Inc has really done a number on me about food... but more than that I'm beginning to realize a bigger issue that's at play here...NO ONE COOKS ANYMORE!!!! And by cook I don't mean putting frozen lasagna in the oven or browning meat for your hamburger helper. I eat more green vegetables in a day than I care to admit (it's kinda sad actually)...but there are people who get none in a week ...or longer. What kills me is that people think it's hard to be healthy...it's not. I can get a super healthy, nutritious, TASTY meal on the table in 30 minutes flat. You have to know how to use your kitchen...the simple basics of steaming, sauteing, baking, broiling...but for crying out loud...IT'S NOT HARD! I know alot of it is cultural...people eat the way they were raised and just don't have the information. But I think you'd have to be living under a rock to not know that potato chips and Little Debbie's aren't good for you.

Families don't eat together anymore either. Everyone just microwaves something and goes to their room. It just makes me sad. I know I get a very skewed view of society given the line of work that I'm in and the population I deal with...but if my tax dollars weren't going to support their poor habits I wouldn't get so worked up over it. And since I know what it's doing to our food supply and ecosystem I bothers me even more....it's like smokers who don't give a shit what they are doing to the rest of us. GRRRR.

Due to health issues I was forced to cut out processed foods and alot of other things from my diet. I used to be hooked on low fat graham crackers, jello pudding, yogurt, wheat thins...not that those are particularly horrible but they are highly processed and loaded with sugar. But anyway...after I cut out that crap I realized what it had been doing to my body and I was blown away...which is why I don't miss it one bit.

I BEG of you...watch Food, Inc...pick up one of Michael Pollan's books...either Food Rules or In Defense of Food....it's not a case for veganism or vegetarianism...it's a case for FOOD. Real food.

And just on a side note...this was my dinner...a bubbly, cheesy, healthy tomato florentine soup with a little bit of cubed tofu thrown in for texture, protein and joy! Made in less than 20! Followed up by chocolate mud cake which took about 10. Booyah! What did you have for dinner?

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I'm going VEGAN! Here's why...

So as most of you know I made some dramatic changes to my diet back in July.  I have always been a healthy eater (or so I thought).  I never ate fried food or fast food, I ate tons of veggies, I avoided anything that wasn't whole grain, and I tried to eat low cal and low fat.  Then after an eye opening revelation about my health I had to make some changes which included cutting out all dairy, gluten and sugar...even fruit and sugar substitutes were off limits too.  I loved fat free ice cream more than anyone in the world.  I loved yogurt and cheese...I LOVED apples.  I remember that I sat and cried...literally...because of how hard this was going to be and how much I was going to miss those things in my life.  The day I cleaned out the kitchen of all the off-limit foods there was practically nothing left but produce.  I sat and read labels for hours and discovered EVERYTHING I was consuming was packed with sugar...especially the low fat/fat free stuff.  It was all processed and packed with chemicals too.  I couldn't believe it.  Even stuff that I thought was healthy (like veggie burgers or fat free yogurt) was loaded with bad stuff. 
 
So the journey began.  For all of my adult life I have been so obsessed with the calorie and fat content of food (mostly because I used to be so overweight)...but I had to throw that whole logic out the window.  By cutting out sugar, gluten and most carbs, I had to fill my diet with more nutritious, filling foods like avocados, nuts, and oils. I started eating only WHOLE foods:  fresh produce, meats, and nuts.  At first I was paranoid because of how many calories I was consuming...but I began to lose weight.  I feel amazing now.  Everything has changed...at first my body went through a detox type reaction but that has leveled off.  Now I feel great, I sleep better and have tons of energy.  I have more endurance and strength and I've lost 20 pounds.
 
I have now decided to take it one step further...I have decided to go Vegan...at least for a few weeks and see how it goes.  I have read ALOT about the effects of animal protein on the human body AND the effects of all of the hormones, antibiotics and chemicals that are pumped into the meat that we eat.  I try to buy only organic/free range/grass fed meat but it's not always possible nor economical.  I love vegetables and eat mostly vegetarian as it is, so why not give this a shot.  And just think of all the brussel sprouts, eggplant, broccoli and rutabagas I can buy for the price of one pack of chicken!!!  I have heard that vegan eating makes your body feel wonderful.  I am not doing it because I feel bad for the animals...I just know how good I feel after cutting out the other stuff and want to see if I can feel even better!  The hardest part is going to be EGGS!  I love omelets and I use eggs in alot of the gluten free baking that I do...so that's gonna be kinda hard.  But we'll see.  Wish me luck!
 


 

My rant about smoking in public....

 

Okay…so here goes.  It is no secret that cigarettes are toxic, harmful, and deadly.  We don’t allow people to go into public places spreading harmful poisonous gasses or toxic chemicals, but we allow smoking indoors where innocent people are exposed to these substances.  How is that fair?  Cigarette smoke contains Arsenic, Formaldehyde, Ammonia, Butane, and a number of other harmful substances.  In a smoky bar or restaurant, breathing in secondhand smoke is no different than smoking a cigarette yourself.  Smoking, even in moderation, is harmful.  If people choose to pollute their bodies they have the right to do so…but not at the expense of others:

A report from the Surgeon General about secondhand smoke: 

http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/secondhandsmoke/secondhandsmoke.pdf

 

Just because smoking has been allowed indoors historically does not mean that it is right, or safe.  I have asthma and I am allergic to cigarette smoke.  If I want to go hear a band that I like I have to spend the entire following day puffing on my inhaler, coughing and wheezing…to the point that it interferes with my daily life, working, exercising, etc.  Why should I have to suffer so smokers won’t be inconvenienced?  They shouldn’t force non-smokers to be exposed to that crap…period.  Should I have to stay at home and avoid all social interactions, never hear live music or never have a beer with friends?  Unfortunately, that’s what it boils down to if I want to avoid cigarette smoke. 

 

As for the argument that banning smoking harms business, I advise you to do your research.  Studies have shown that, in cities where bans have passed, businesses were NOT affected by smoking bans and that some experienced GROWTH in business after the ban.  But that argument is pointless anyway because if ALL businesses are smoke-free then everyone is on an even playing field.  No business has an advantage over another.  There is a ton of research available out there on this topic but here is just one study that I found: 

Economic Impact study: 

http://research.stlouisfed.org/publications/red/2006/02/Pakko.pdf

 

Who gave smokers the right to smoke indoors anyway?  It’s disgusting, harmful and offensive and we don’t allow other harmful and offensive things to be done in public places but smoking is allowed?  Why?  Wanting clean air and a toxic free environment when I’m in public does not make me a socialist.  It makes me smart and healthy and if that’s what you consider socialism then so be it.  All I know is that I will live longer, I will feel better, I will have prettier skin, I will smell better, and I will not make others gag when I walk into a room.  Okay thanks!