Gooooooooood morning, Friday!

I have a 7am hair appointment (weird time, I agree) and then I’m off to Houston to see my BFF for the weekend! I’m really excited! I don’t know that we have anything in particular planned other than a day trip to Galvelston. I will bring my beloved laptop and try to check in at some point!! But if you don’t hear from me, I’m enjoying the Houston sun!

But not before a Q&A…!

Heather of Get Healthy with Heather: I used to have big issues with lactose but now it seems to only happen with non fat dairy products. Do you know why that could be?

Prevention RD: Okay, I’m making a deduction here. RD’s chime in if you have any ideas on this! When fat is taken out of products – sugar is put in. For example, whole milk has less “sugar” (carbohydrate) than fat-free milk. This sugar is in the form of lactose in dairy products. All products are going to vary based on the brand, so start checking out the carbohydrate content on your whole fat versus low-fat versus fat-free dairy products. I’ll bet this is the issue! While only a small change, chances are your body has its “happy zone” for lactose tolerance. GREAT question…got me thinkin’!

Bridget: I just discovered your site recently, and I have a topic request: my husband (who had not had a physical for nearly 10 years) and I got back our annual physical results today. It turns out that he has a shockingly high triglycerides count: 574! Our doctor is going to start him on nicotinic acid medication to get his triglycerides down, since she says that it could cause pancreas damage at its current level. She wants to check his blood again in 6 weeks. Obviously I don’t want him to be on medication forever, so I am going to research what we can do from a dietary standpoint. She says to decrease sugar intake in his diet–do you have any other info on what might help him?

Prevention RD: So glad you found me! While 574 is a high value and he does risk pancreatitis with such high levels, I have seen much worse! Like…5,000+!! Crazy, huh? More like scary, really. Triglycerides are largely influenced by the diet because the value represents the lipid (fat) found in the blood. Weight loss, lower calorie intake, limited alcohol intake, and reduced carbohydrate (simple carbohydrates – i.e. sugar, white flour, sodas, juices, sweets, etc.) intake help lower triglycerides. A low saturated and trans fat diet should be implemented and healthy fats (mono and polyunsaturated fats) should be increased (e.g. nuts, seeds, natural nut butters, avocados, canola oil, olive oil, etc.). Additionally, I recommend 3,000 milligrams of omega-3/fish oil supplementation a day. Omega 3’s work beautifully to lower triglycerides. Good luck to your hubby! Great question!

Kenya: Does water maintain its health benefits if I add one of those sugar free sweeteners like Crystal Light or does it really just become more like a ‘kool-aid’ type of drink?

Prevention RD: I am not opposed to these beverages because they encourage calorie-free, caffeine-free beverage choices. Is it preferred to water? Nah (because of the artificial sweeteners and preservatives). But I think it’s WAY better to consume those products to help stay properly hydrated versus not consuming enough liquids each day. I think a good rule of thumb is to have at least half of your water needs each day coming from water and the rest from caffeine-free, calorie-free beverages (i.e. flavored waters, Crystal Light, Fit and Active, etc.), if needed. Good question!!

John of Challenges 2010: I came across something where it’s said green tea can block testosterone and that black tea would be better for males. What do you think?

Prevention RD: I checked with the ADA, MayoClinic, and WebMD which report nothing of the like. I’ve never heard of this before so I also ran it past our medical providers. None of them batted an eye in recognition of this as an issue. A Google search turned up nothing but body building and supplement sites. Sketch! I’m going to suggest an “everything in moderation” approach.

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GARDEN UPDATE!!!

I have some growth!!! 4 days later and we’re in gardening business!!!

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Today’s NNM Topic: Renal Failure

Today’s topic is renal failure because so much of the renal failure in the US is secondary to uncontrolled diabetes, yesterday’s topic. Elevated blood glucose can cause scarring to the delicate and intricate renal nephrons which comprise the kidneys. During the beginning stages of renal failure, protein, sodium, potassium, and phosphorus may be limited to help preserve kidney function. These electrolytes are closely monitored to ensure proper fluid and pH balance, among other things.

According to the National Kidney Foundation, 30% of type 1 diabetics and 10-40% of type 2 diabetics develop kidney disease. Once the kidneys fail transplant or dialysis are required to live. When the kidneys can no longer clean the blood of waste and fluid, dialysis must be initiated. Dialysis sessions typically last 3-4 hours and must be completed several times a week.

Kidney failure due to uncontrolled diabetes is a very scary reality.

Question: Where was the last vacation or getaway you took? Any fun weekend plans?

Enjoy the weekend!!

“I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do.” —Helen Keller

What are you doing today to be successful? Health and wellness is not just about nutrition; it’s not about finding the perfect diet; it’s not just about exercising. It’s about living with a conviction to love God with all of your body, mind and soul. It’s a way of life that is both spiritual and physical.

As Helen Keller said she “cannot do everything,” but she can “still do something.” I do not know Helen Keller’s conviction, but I do know as members of Christ’s body, it should be our love to honor God with all our strength, with all our organs, arteries, capillaries, muscles, bones; with all our mind, thoughts, ideas, words; with all our being, essence—soul. Mickey Mantle said “If I knew I was going to live this long, I’d have taken better care of myself.” Be a good Steward of your body.

Follow through with your goals each day. Go beyond talk. Act now!!!

Life is not about perfection; it’s about progress!!

Have a SONSHINE Day!!!

Relevant Magazine, 9 March 2010, “Experiencing Lent Beyond Fasting,” Matthew Paul Turner

DOING MORE THAN JUST “GIVING UP” SOMETHING DURING THIS PERIOD OF FASTING.

In hopes of becoming spiritually prepared for Easter, a few years ago the members of my young adult Sunday school class decided that we would celebrate Lent collectively by fasting from noise. Our Sunday school teacher didn’t expect us to stop listening to all noise, just the kind our ears enjoyed hearing like music, movies, television, radio, CDs, and concerts. Mr. Randall believed that ridding our lives of pop culture’s noise and embracing silence eventually would leave our hearts and minds with nothing better to do than to think about Heavenly things. However, after living without the world’s noise for six days, I wasn’t so sure. Though the silence rarely caused me to think about Jesus, I did ponder Heaven a good bit, mostly as I contemplated whether or not I wanted to hurt myself to get there. By day 16, I needed to hear noise so badly that a host of voices formed a circle inside my head. I ignored the voices until they invited me to go with them to see Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon at the dollar theater. We all sat together. As soon as the first preview started, Lent was over for me.

Even though I’ve been a Christian since I exited the birth canal, I haven’t always practiced Lent. My family and I belonged to a conservative Baptist church, so I grew up believing that Lent was like St. Patrick’s Day, a pagan holiday that only Catholics and diehard Episcopalians celebrated. The closest I came to acknowledging Lent was eating pancakes for dinner on the evening before Ash Wednesday. My grandmother called that Tuesday Pancake Day, which I learned later, was basically Fat Tuesday’s homeschooled virgin cousin.

“Are you Catholic?”

I was twenty-seven the first time I fasted during Lent. Three days in, my parents found out. As the three of us prepared to eat dinner, I made the mistake of declining my usual sweet tea.

Dad looked at me. “Are you sick?”

“No, I’m sacrificing sugar for Lent.”

My parents’ faces turned sheet white as if I’d just confessed to being a warlock or a trick-or-treater. Mom and Dad were still getting used to the fact that their only son was unequally yoked with Christians who didn’t have a problem with female pastors or male pastors who wore robes and collars. They weren’t prepared to hear about my involvement with Lent.

Mom looked worried. “Are you Catholic, Matthew?

“No,” I said.

“Then why are you giving up sugar for Lent?”
 “To help me focus on Jesus.”

Crossing her arms, Mom made it obvious that she was not satisfied with my answer. Which was unfortunate, because if she didn’t like my “Jesus answer” for why I was fasting from sugar, she was definitely not going to like my “get a six-pack before the summer swimsuit season answer.” Truthfully, the second answer wasn’t as shallow as it sounds. Since I was new to Lent and fasting, garnering a six-pack was like an added incentive just in case my desire to focus on Jesus wasn’t enough. But even with two value-added prizes waiting at the finish line for me, denying my desires for KitKat bars, Ding-Dongs and Fanta grape soda was harder than I expected. Thirteen days into Lent, I quit meditating on Jesus and the thought of me with a six-pack by eating a cupcake.

The following year I fasted from caffeine. I resisted the lure of Starbucks for eighteen days.

GOOD NOISE

A couple days after seeing Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, I ran into my friend Ruth, one of the assistant pastors at my church. Having heard about my Sunday School’s fast of noise, she asked me how it was going.

I sighed. “Ruth, I’m not very good at Lent.”

She laughed “Neither am I, Matthew. But who is?”

“I don’t know, but I bet I’m the only one member of my class who fasted from noise by seeing Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.”

“Oh, that’s funny. I stopped fasting for Lent years ago. And now I love Lent.”

“You don’t fast?”

“Nope. I practice Lent by cooking! I know it sounds strange, but during Lent, I spend a couple days each week in the kitchen cooking something big, hearty, and Italian. Two nights a week I invite people over to the house—family, friends, church members, sometimes strangers—and we eat, drink and engage in good conversations. It’s fun, and really, it’s changed how I think about and engage the Lenten season.

“Matthew, don’t tell your Sunday school teacher I said this, but I think going to see Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was the best thing you could have done. That movie is the kind of noise that makes you feel something. If I were you, rather than resisting all noise; why not pursue embracing the good kind of noise? That seems like a lovely way to practice Lent—filling your soul with good art and music.”

In a short conversation, Pastor Ruth changed my perspective about Lent. A few days later, I took the afternoon off from work and spent three hours soaking up Picasso’s Blue exhibit at the National Art Museum. The following week, I sat in the tenth row at the National Theater and felt Les Miserables for the first time. During those remaining days of Lent, I saw Joan Osborne at the 9:30 Club, heard one of my favorite deejays spin electronica at a hipster bar in Georgetown, and visited the Holocaust museum. And then on the last evening of Lent, I sat with friends on a blanket in the middle of a grass field. As we sipped cabernet from clear plastic cups, we laughed, shared stories, and then my friend Lisa played guitar as we sang church songs until the early hours of Easter morning. I felt so alive in that moment. When we ran out of hymns, we started singing Elton John songs. I think it was during a chorus of “Candle in the Wind” that I began to wonder if what we were doing was an acceptable manner in which to celebrate Easter. However, looking back, I don’t think we celebrated Easter. I’m inclined to believe we experienced it.

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A few years after starting the Healthy Voyager blog, I decided to share more then just my travel tips and began to share holiday ideas and recipes.  I’ve made it a point to cover most of the biggies and fun ones and St. Patrick’s Day always makes the cut ; )  This year is no different! I’m collected a few recipes to help you feel luck, as well as a bit healthier, this coming day of clover, green & liquor overload. In addition, you can find some more eco tips & fun recipes from past posts here: click here for 2008 and click here for 2009 ; ) This year, the recipes will not only be Irish themed, but will help prevent or help hangovers while keeping you healthy, slim & trim!

• Start your morning with these:

1 cup white flour
1/4 pound vegan butter — softened
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg replacer
2 ounces sugar
2 ounces white raisins
Walnut halves (optional)

Mix flour and baking powder. Add butter, and blend until the mixture is butter-colored. Add sugar and continue to mix well. Add half the egg replacer and all the milk. Add raisins or some nuts, if desired, mixing well to make a sticky dough. Turn dough onto floured board and knead for at least 5 minutes or longer. Cut dough into rounds and place on greased baking sheet or hot frying pan. Brush tops of scones with remainder of the egg replacer. Place walnut halves on top, if desired. Bake at 350 to 375 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until brown. If preparing over an open fire, heat frying pan till very hot . Place scones in pan and cook for 7 to 8 minutes. Turn and cook for another 7 to 8 minutes.  

• To chow on before your big night out so that you fill up on some tasty starches. Starches slow down alcohol absorption ; ) This is also good to fight off your bludgeoning headache the morning after!

9 potatoes, peeled and diced
6 stalks of celery, sliced
4 large carrots, sliced
2 small onions, chopped
3 cups water
2 teaspoons salt
3 better then chicken bullion cubes (or any vegan chicken bullion brand you like), dissolved in 1/2 cup boiling water
6 cups unsweetened soymilk
1/2 cup flour
1 stick of vegan butter

Combine the potatoes, celery, carrots, onion, water, and seasonings in a large pan. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook until tender, about 30 minutes. Combine a small amount of milk and flour until smooth. Add this mixture and the rest of milk to the potato mixture. Stir in the butter. Cook and stir over medium heat until the soup thickens.

• For a sweet treat at your festivities or to bring to a party. Again, the potatoes help with alcohol absorption.

2 T vegan butter
8 oz self-raising flour
6 oz freshly mashed potatoes
4 T soymilk
5 medium cooking apples
Brown sugar
Whole cloves
Juice of 1/2 lemon
3 T Cider

Mix the butter into the hot mashed potatoes, add a good pinch of salt, and the flour, and mix well, then add enough milk to make a soft, slack dough. Roll out and line a 1-qt bowl with some of it, reserving enough for the lid. Fill with the apples, peeled and cored and finely sliced, and sweeten to taste with sugar. Add 2 whole cloves, the lemon juice and the cider (or water), taking care not to make it too wet. Dampen the pastry edges, lay the lid on and press down. Cover with foil and secure well. Steam, or cook set in boiling water up to the rim, for 2 – 2 1/2 hours. Serve cut in wedges with vegan whipped cream and/or vegan ice cream.  

• Have a nice cup of Milk Thistle Tea with your meal as it will aid in your liver’s ability to process alcohol better ; )

• For the morning after, to replace electrolytes & rehydrate ; )

• Have some Ginger Root Tea, bananas & saltines handy for upset tummies.

Be sure to check out last year’s posts for more health & greening your holiday tips as well as heaps more St. Patrick’s Day recipes.  Have a very happy and healthy celebration!!

This is a crucial point in this project. For the past week, I have not eaten like a man on a diet, or even a man on a lifestyle change or whatever the hell you want to call it. I’ve had burgers, pizza, wings, onion rings, chips and guacamole, tacos, and beer. I’ve had pretty much every kind of food that is bad for me. So, yes, I am at a crossroads (and I’m gonna miss everybody, and I’m gonna miss everybody).

In a way, I guess I actually thought that when I started this project, I would go a full year without screwing up. Maybe there would be a day or two thrown in every once in a while, but I never envisioned a week like this. And barely two months in to boot. So I have to ask myself the question: does a bad week negate all the hard work I put in for two months? The answer, of course, is no. I lost 25 pounds. That’s a quarter of my full goal in two months. That’s spectacular. When I look at it long term, both at where I came from and how much time is in front of me, I realize this is not a time to give up.

It is a time, however, to reevaluate. This week has shown me that I have indeed been dieting. It has not been a “lifestyle change” as so many people like to call it. Maybe my lifestyle did change, but my mindset did not. Take the parable of the sower and the seed. I was like the seed that fell on the rock. I’m good to go, but when temptation or persecution arises, I fell away. (How many people can throw a Bible reference and a Bone Thugs reference so close together on a freaking weight loss blog? Can I get some props for that?)

I think it’s important that I recognize the things that have been hurting me. 1) Laziness. I hate preparing food. But it’s essential to this diet. Having to take the time to plan out meals, shop for what you need, make the meal, clean up the mess in the kitchen… that takes for-e-ver. It’s exhausting. You know how badly I want to just order pizza or at the very least throw a Healthy Choice into the microwave? But that’s not what my body needs. I need protein and vegetables, prepared correctly.

2) Tiredness. It goes right along with laziness. When I don’t get enough sleep, I stop caring about eating healthy. When I’m tired, sometimes all I want to do is eat something, anything, to get my energy up. Maybe even pound an energy drink or go get some coffee, both which are horrible for me. Plus when I wake up late, I don’t have time to make breakfast, which pretty much screws up my whole day. So I need to start going to bed early, which is ironic because I’m writing this at 12:30 a.m. right now because I had to stay up working, which brings me to my next point…

3) Stress. Yeah, I know, everybody has work, I’m not the only person that is dealing with a lot. I have been busting my ass to earn a spot with my company. I’m still technically an intern. That should change soon, considering I was told that I should be getting an offer sheet in the next week, week and a half (very exciting, when it does happen I’m breaking out some bubbly, or sparkling water depending on how hardcore I go in the coming days). But I have so many things going on at once, many of which I’m learning on the fly and still don’t really know if I’m doing a good enough job, but all that starts to wear me down mentally, which leads to eating, because that’s how I deal with things.

4) Food Addiction. It sounds bad, I know, and copping to food addiction might just be as bad as Steve Phillips and Tiger Woods copping to sex addiction. But I really do think I have some sort of addiction to food. I crave it even when I’m not hungry, I just want to eat something, and something bad for me. Today it was all I could do not to get an entire bag of Sun Chips and eat all of it at work. I refrained, mostly because I’m don’t want to throw everything away, but also because there’s no way to eat Sun Chips discretely at work anymore now that they have those biodegradable bags that are the loudest things I have ever heard in my entire life. It’s like they’re on stereo. I’m far more intrigued with how they’re so loud than how they are biodegradable. But that’s a subject for another time.

5) Abby. She has been wonderful throughout this whole time, but one of my biggest weaknesses, even more than saying no to food that I love, is saying no to her. When she’s hungry and we both don’t really feel like preparing anything, she will want things like pizza and tater tots and, dammit, I’m inclined to give them to her. That might be a tiny reason why I got so big in the first place. I’m not blaming her by any means, I’m just saying that I give in easily to her desires, which are really my desires, but giving her them is just a nice convenient reason to get pizza. I did okay saying no to her for the first two months, but it gets hard, especially when I’m fading.

So those are the obstacles facing me (I’m not really calling you an obstacle, Abby, five was just more of a round figure). Can I do it? It remains to be seen. But I’ll do my best to have some fun along the way and avoid my problem areas as much as humanly possible. Thanks to everyone for your support and also your kind words about my Grandma. I didn’t weigh myself this morning, so we’ll have to get an official re-weigh in tomorrow. Goodnight.

You may know that I joined a new gym in December. I go most mornings with a friend of mine who lives nearby. We’ve been going for a few months, so these days my friend and I recognize a ton of other members. We don’t know any of their names, so we make up our own names for them based on some aspect of the personality or behavior each one displays in the gym.

Let’s see…Here are some of the people I saw just this morning: Buongiorno, La Chinita, El Viejito, Mr. Chatty, Kick-Your-Ass Lady, Luke’s Fake Brother (AKA The Grunter), Mr. Nut Jokes, Varicose Veins Man, Somebody’s Creepy Uncle, El Negrazo, Victor/Victoria, Escuelera, The Gorilla, Hair Extensions Barbie, The Botox Sisters, The Robot, El Loco, and Dead-in-the-Sauna Lady.

I thought it might be fun to tell you about some of these folks. First up, Buongiorno:

My friend C and I nearly always work out at the gym together. She is a classic Colombian beauty, all flashing dark eyes and ebony hair. The two of us are friendly gals, and each day we smile and say “Good morning” to those we meet. Since my Spanish is much better than C’s English, she and I speak Spanish with each other, and we never really think much about it.

One day, one of the “regulars” spotted us from across the room, and absolutely beamed. As we neared, she waved energetically, and called out a sing-song “Buongiorno!” This tickled C and me, and we replied, “Buongiorno!” before continuing on to the FM machines.

And, ever since that day, when we see this lady, she tosses an always-enthusiastic “Buongiorno!” our direction.

Now, for those of you who have some Romance language confusion, it may be important to point out that “Buongiorno” means “Good morning” – in Italian.

C and I speak Spanish, not Italian.

So…our friend “Buongiorno” greets us effusively each morning…in Italian. C and I have discussed this at length – there are two possibilities. First, Buongiorno may think she is actually greeting us in Spanish, due to some general confusion or lack of linguistic prowess. Second, and most likely, we believe Buongiorno thinks we actually speak Italian instead of Spanish. This, in and of itself, is not tremendously unusual, surprisingly – Since I don’t look a thing like my gal C, who definitely resembles the “typical” Spanish speaker of our region, when folks hear me speak Spanish, they often presume it’s something other language.

Neither C nor I have the heart to correct Buongiorno, so instead we just smile and say “Good morning!”

Brekky: Fortunately, hubby made brekky today: farina. I put on the maple syrup, 2 tbsp. of flaxseed, and rice milk.  Had organic coffee (purchased in Lake Tahoe from local, neighborhood coffee shop) w/homemade soymilk. Also had a slice of home-baked honey bran toast (I save individual slices frozen while fresh, then pop each in the toaster, as needed), with some really luscious roasted peanutbutter (organic Valencia) I found at Andy’s, along with local blackberry honey.  Fruit consisted of a few slices of crunchy Granny Smith apple, a few banana slices, strawberry slices, and blueberries. YUM.

Lunch: One of our 2 hens laid their first egg of the Spring, so, I couldn’t resist: I ate the scrambled egg, along with hash browns made from a single potato (w/ketchup & salt), 1/2 broiled fresh tomato, orange juice from an orange from our backyard tree picked off the ground today, another slice of toast, w/a teensy bit of peanut butter & honey, and freshly brewed coffee w/soymilk. (At 10:30PM, I still have to clean up the mess!)

Dinner: Ate out at Rose’s Diner after my ice skating lesson. It’s a “soul food” place, so I had all the sides: collards, cabbage, corn,  a small amount of mashed potatoes, red beans & rice, a bit of baked beans. For seconds, had a little more corn, collards, and red beans & rice. Plain tea (Early Grey) to drink.

Banana smoothie

Yesterday, I had a big green salad followed by a banana smoothie. I had one egg in it and some spicy chicken that I cooked myself. I experimented with yogurt and was pleasantly surprised. My last meal of the day was a small portion of pasta, with some pesto and chicken. I had two strong milk teas to start out the day.

My usual day starts out with a banana smoothie and two teas. I then make my lunch, which is usually a green salad with eggs or some meat.

There aren’t any traditional yogurt tubs in the local grocery store. Thoth mentioned checking out Jason’s, a grocery store that has a lot of foreign wares, but I don’t want to go there. I barely even go to the Carrefour. You can spend $300 easy at those sorts of places on food. The Carrefour isn’t that bad. I usually pop in for salmon filets for sashimi, or other stuff that I can’t get at the Foromosa. I’ve noticed that the Foromosa is cheaper than the Carrefour.

Since I no longer buy bread, I don’t really need to go to the Carrefour, although they’ve got a great European selection of pasta and foods. I’d pop in for some coldcuts, but I’d only put them in salads, so I can just buy fresh meat and cook it instead.