How I Stopped Trying to Be Thin

There's been a lot of buzz lately about Bob Harper's new book Jumpstart to Skinny. If you aren't familiar with the book, it's a short term plan for losing a lot of weight. To be specific, Bob recommends an adult woman eat a mere 800 calories a day while doing at least 45 minutes of low intensity cardio per day. This amount of calories is way below any woman's basal metabolic rate (the amount of calories you need to actually function properly). Why would you want to risk the health of your organs to fit into a bikini? I am by no means an expert on weight loss, and I do not have what many would consider an "ideal body." The fact that this man is promoting a 800 calorie diet to people as a "Jumpstart to Skinny" is, in my opinion, immoral. Calorie restriction of this magnitude is dangerous. A Time magazine article states that while caloric restriction can lower your cholesterol, it gives no other health or longevity benefit. It may even slow immune function and wound healing.

People are so shocked and offended when you tell them that it doesn't have to be this hard. You don't have to eat a cardboard salad and go to bed feeling deprived every night. How is your body supposed to drop weight when you aren't nourishing it enough to properly function? As a society, we've reached this point of desperation where we will diet by any means possible and deal with the aftermath once we get to the destination. I understand how sick it is because I used to think that way. I have taken every diet pill, done every diet: low carb, no carb, all carbs, vegan, vegetarian, nutritarian, primal, paleo, juicing, and fasting which usually always resulted in a binge. Then I decided to stop. I stopped trying to be thin, and I started being healthy. A healthy person is active. A healthy person eats nourishing food and enough of it.

Like I said before, I do not look like most people's ideal woman so my opinions mostly fall on deaf ears. However, I ran my first 5K this year. At the beginning of the year, I couldn't run for 30 seconds. I have actual muscles. I have energy. I don't have health problems anymore. I have a body that can live a life, and isn't that really why people want to lose weight in the first place? Why can't we pursue health for it's own sake? Why is it only okay to eat vegetables or be active if we are trying to get a "bikini body"? When I am healthy, I can lift my groceries, I can run away from criminals, I can do fun things like swim and run. When I eat food that is good (and by good I mean actual vegetables and sometimes animals and not crap from a box), I don't feel like shit. When I don't feel like shit, I can actually live my life. I can dance, sing, do it with the lights on, work, love, and live.

There's this fallacy that everyone believes that you can't truly experience life in all it's beauty, glory, peace, unless you look a certain way. Life doesn't work that way, though. Life begins now. Life doesn't wait for you to look thinner, beefier, or to be free of health problems. It's happening NOW. So, if you hate yourself because you are fat, thin, too girly, too manish, have a 3rd arm, whatever....don't STARVE yourself in pursuit of some ideal body that you feel will make things magically happen for you. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF. Walk around the block. Smell the fucking flowers. Say hello to your neighbors. Make yourself a REALLY GOOD MEAL. Spend time with your loved ones. If at the end of the day, you still think, "Hey, my pants are too tight." By all means, pursue HEALTH by making better food choices and exercising more. The self-hatred, constant self-criticism, punishment, guilt and shame isn't required. You can have a really awesome life being 20 pounds overweight. You can love your body at the exact same time your are working to make it stronger, faster, and better. You can be happy RIGHT NOW, regardless of how you look.

Blueberry Fiber Smoothie

I love smoothies! They are fast, easy, and pretty tasty too. They are also a really great way to hide or include somethings into your diet that you may not want to eat solo. If you are not eating enough fruits and veggies, you may not be getting enough fiber. Fiber is a pretty boring topic, and it often is associated with your grandparents or eating prunes. However, your grandparents were on to something with their Metamucil taking ways because studies show a correlation between high-fiber diets and living longer. This recipe contains a whopping 13.5 grams of fiber (that's almost half of what you are supposed to get in a day). It also can easily be modified for those on animal-free diets.

Blueberry Fiber Smoothie

• 1/2 cup of frozen blueberries
• 1/2 of a frozen banana
• 1/2 cup of milk (can substitute non-dairy milk)
• 1/4 cup of pomegranate juice
• 2 TBSP of ground flaxseed
• 2 tsp of psyllium husk
• 2 TBSP of protein powder (I use soy, but you can use whey)
• 3/4 cup of water

Blend ingredients in your blender until smooth.

Thanks to SparkRecipes, I'm going to be including nutritional information for my recipes from here on out. You can get the smoothie nutritional info by clicking here.

I'm Back!

I'm back! Well, actually I never left. I'm still on the crusade for healthy eating and living. My weight has maintained the past six months, but that's honestly due to lack of movement more than anything. My gallbladder is doing pretty great! My symptoms are fully controlled by making diet modifications (less fat and less meat). However, one lifestyle change that has made the biggest difference is quitting birth control pills.

Around January, I saw a tv commercial advertising for a class action lawsuit against several brands of birth control which may cause gallbladder disease. If you want to learn more about these claims, feel free to read here. I don't qualify for a class action lawsuit since I never had my gallbladder removed, but the information was enough to convince me that I needed to stop taking them. I struggled with the decision for a while, but ultimately decided in February to go "all natural" so to speak.

It took a few months for me to balance out. My symptoms were way better, but I still had a few unpredictable bad days. However, I have been largely gallbladder attack and pain free for the past two months which has been the longest stretch I have gone since I originally got sick about a year ago. I am able to exercise more since now I don't feel like crap all the time. I hope to have some more tasty recipes in the coming days. Another big change is I have been practicing yoga regularly (4 to 5 times a week) for the past month. My posture is the bomb right now! I read somewhere that the twisting motions in yoga were great for your internal organs, and I don't know if any of that is true. But I figured if I tried acupuncture, doing some yoga couldn't hurt.

Everyday I am amazed at what my body can do. It has taken a lot of hard work and some serious lifestyle changes, but I probably feel the healthiest I have ever been.

Food Porn No More: Stuffed Pepper Soup

I have just discovered Pinterest. I know. I am late to the Pinterest party. Its Food section is a great resource for some healthy recipe ideas, but mostly it's a lot of what I and Anthony Bourdain like to call "food porn." Food porn (or at least my understanding of it) is defined as watching others prepare food (usually very rich, fatty, luxurious) while you drool and never really attempt any actual cooking yourself. I recently saw a recipe on Pinterest for Stuffed Pepper Soup (imagine the flavors of stuffed peppers in soup form). It sounded delicious, but I had to make some big changes to it in order to make it healthy. So, I turned this beefy recipe into a tasty, filling, and even vegan soup. Enjoy!

Stuffed Pepper Soup

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 3 cups cooked brown rice
• 1 can pinto beans (drained and rinsed)
• 1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups low sodium vegetable broth
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 2 15 oz cans diced tomato
• 1/2 bottle of your favorite Mexican beer
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp marjoram
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Over medium heat, add oil to pot and saute peppers and onions until softened (5 to 8 minutes). Add garlic, stir for 30 seconds. Add tomato paste and stir until paste is combined with vegetables. Pour in beer to deglaze pan, stir for a minute or so. Add broth, canned tomatoes, and spices, and lower heat to simmer soup with lid on for 20 to 30 minutes. Serve over cooked rice.

Zen Body

I've been a little slow on the updates because I've caught some bronchial, cold, virus thing. This means I haven't been cooking as much as I had hoped or would like to, but I'm managing pretty well considering. Whole Living magazine came out with a month long cleansing diet for January which I was very excited about, but I found a lot of the recipes too fatty for my gallbladder problems. So, I've picked a few that I can eat, and so far, they are quite good. I was especially excited about some of the juice recipes. I've already tried the Grapefruit, Carrot, and Ginger juice, and I recommend it! It's a great change up from your typical morning orange juice.

I've also started yoga classes at Arkansas Yoga Center, and I love it! Although catching this cold, kind of put the brakes on that temporarily. It seems like every time I try to make healthy changes in my life, something comes along to derail it. It is hard for me to take time out for myself. I feel guilty for laying around, but the truth is, when you are sick, you NEED to lay around. One thing I've learned is that your body doesn't really care what your plans are; it just does what it does when it needs to. The body is very zen when you think about it. It's our minds that are always telling our bodies to do and be different. The body simply "is" regardless of any outside input. Well, maybe it's the cough medicine talking, but that seemed to make sense a while ago. My goal this week is to be okay with taking time out. If I want to achieve health, I surely can't accomplish that by shaming myself into feeling good. It's time for a nap I think.

New Years Dinner

Every year both of my grandmothers would make the traditional Southern New Years dinner of "Greens and Peas." The dish is traditionally eaten to attract wealth and luck in the coming year. Reportedly, the tradition in this country goes back to the Civil War. Black eyed peas were originally planted and grown for livestock feed, but during the Civil War, Union troops ate most food surpluses and destroyed crops, they left the black eyed peas deeming them unworthy to eat. From then on, the black eyed pea was considered a symbol of luck. In ancient Egypt, many believed that eating black-eyed peas showed humility, and that the gods would bless you. Collard greens are also eaten on New Years for prosperity most likely because they are green (like money!), affordable, and most likely available because they are harvested late in the year. As a kid we would also eat hog jowl or some other pork product, but pork isn't on the "gallbladder friendly" list of foods. So this year I just focused on the veggies.

Green and Purple Collard Greens, with Black Eyed Peas, Wild Rice Blend, and Toast
Black Eyed Peas

• 2 cans black eyed peas (rinsed and drained) *see instructions
• 1/2 small onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 c to 1 c of veggie or chicken broth
• 1 tsp paprika
• salt and pepper to taste

Over medium heat in medium sauce pan, add oil, onion, and garlic until onion is softened and almost translucent. Add peas (*If peas are no salt added, you can leave the can fluid, but most brands of canned peas you should rinse and drain them. It will improve taste, remove excess sodium, and remove some of the sugars in legumes that cause gas and bloating.) Add broth to prevent peas from sticking to bottom of pan. You can start off with a little, and increase as needed or to your preferences. Add salt, pepper, and paprika. Cover and let simmer (stirring occasionally) at least 20 minutes.

Sauteed Collard Greens

• 2 bunches collard greens, rinsed, ribs removed, torn into bite sized pieces
• 1/2 small onion, diced
• 2 to 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp rice vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

Over medium heat in medium skillet, add oil, onion, and garlic until onion is softened and almost translucent. Add collards and stir frequently adding broth or water to prevent sticking. Collards should cook down to less than half their original size. When greens are softened (about 5 to 10 minutes), add salt and pepper, and vinegar (feel free to substitute with any other vinegar available like white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar). Serve.

Wild rice blend was cooked in chicken broth according to package instructions, and toast was store bought french bread toasted in the oven at 350 until lightly browned.

Happy New Year!

I don't know about you guys, but 2011 was a complete roller coaster for me. It was filled with some very tragic but also a few happy moments. 2011 got off to a really bad start, and with a sudden emergence of health problems, it continually spiraled downward. In September, I decided to take this crazy plunge of actually trying to change my lifestyle in order to obtain better health. Has it been easy? Heck no! There were a lot of people who said it couldn't (or shouldn't) be done...even my doctors. But I am stubborn, and I was determined to turn it around. At this point, I am not totally symptom free, but my symptoms are mostly controlled by eating a whole foods, mostly plant based diet. I am down 15 pounds, and I feel better than I've felt in a long time.

I know everyone starts "diets" at this time of year, but I am choosing to simply recommit myself to achieving health and wellness. My focus has moved from "I want to be thin" to "I want to be healthy. It's really a transition from deprivation mode to nourishment mode. I am striving this year to discover and celebrate just how inclusive and expansive healthy eating can be instead of focusing on "what not to eat." I truly have more variety in my diet than I ever have. Every time someone gives me that look of pity when they see me eating some kale, I know that I am nothing to feel sorry for. I am happy, I am healthy, and I am nourished. What else could you ask for?