The Sitting Disease

All Is Not Lost

I had relaxed my own rules for some time, and last night decided to indulge in some desserts.  Mind you, I have avoided them assiduously for the past 15 years.  Yes, 15 years!  But last night, after dinner, I had some sugary desserts.  Why?  I had come to realize that keeping my resolve to stay away from flour and sugar did not need to become the next obsession.  I was not going to have “abstinence” become my new master.  So, I made a choice and indulged.

When I awoke this morning and recalled the dramatic deviation I had taken from my usual course, I realized that perhaps that was not the best course of action.  Yes, I did not need to make avoidance of flour/sugar my new master, but nor did I need to beat myself up for sidestepping it.  And whatever I indulged in last night did not represent the first time ever that I sidestepped my own rules: For some time now, I have been eating whole-grain products, chips and crackers, and items that no doubt contained some sugar, so certainly my sojourn last night did not represent a capitulation.  But, I also know that I do not want to let this become the slippery slope that it could be.  Indulging once in a blue moon is fine; leaving all your resolutions behind is not. 

After all, sticking to those resolutions has been difficult at times; and that is precisely why I feel proud of the accomplishment.

Self Trust

I expect that folks have been reading, or will be reading, this blog at some point.  I imagine that some may think that I am a fool-proof skinny who has never had to diet in her life; never struggles; never white knuckles it.  Wrong!

In fact, over the past couple of years or so, I have experienced a rather bad time of it, in terms of cravings and difficulty sticking with my plan.  And each time I “fail,” I berate myself, mock myself with negative self talk.  And in so doing, I condemn myself to continuing the same experience.  How?  While it is true that I have had many so-called failures to stick to a proper, healthy diet, it is also true that I have had many successes, and it is indeed such successes that have prompted me to write my book, Diet Proof Your Life, which is the theme of this blog.  You see, self-talk is extremely powerful, and what you say to yourself has an enormous impact on your subsequent beliefs and consequent behaviors.  Self-talk can be a self-fulfilling prophecy.  So, if I have failed (to stick to my diet) or if I succeed in it, all translates to self-talk.  The issue, then, is which self-talk will you believe in?  The one that puts you down as a “failure,” or the one that raises you and makes you feel proud and good about yourself, thereby propelling you to further gains?

Your choice.

“I’m only human”

Vitruvian Man, Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice Italiano: Uomo Vitruviano, Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venizia (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This has become one of most often-used excuse for everything from overeating to goofing off.  And I don’t want to hide behind that one.  That said, there is one area of my diet/eating style that befuddles me: If I am successful in keeping my food/eating commitments for even a single day, I assume an attitude of “Gee, that was easy!” and conclude that since it was no big deal, I can do it again at anytime, and therefore can go ahead and indulge.  That, of course, doesn’t help, because it produces the logical next feeling of guilt.  There, I did it again! I’m no good, I can’t stick to it, it’s bigger than I am.  I wrote the book on focusing on things other than food or eating; focusing on gratitudes; on friends and relationships; on hobbies and pastimes.  And yet, here I am being “human.”  I despise that excuse, because it is so final, so definitive: In effect, being human is all we can be.  We will never be anything but human.  Does that limit us?  It shouldn’t.  On the contrary – being human is an inspired, evolved existence, one that should propel us to be better than simple automatons in the way we conduct ourselves in relation to our environment, in the way we behave, in our choices.  Indeed, as humans, we have choices that go beyond our baser instincts, therefore, being human elevates us, rather than condemns us to an existence of simply responding to our urges.

A Yummy (and Healthy) Lunch

Who says eating healthy is boring? If you think a healthful diet consists of “rabbit food,” you are sadly mistaken.  Moreover, you are ripping yourself off.

I usually eat a huge salad for lunch – not just any salad, but a salad made with almost everything in the kitchen: green beans, onion, garlic, tomato, radish, apples, raisins, nuts, and dressed with sesame oil and balsamic vinegar.  Oh, yes, salt and pepper (I don’t skimp on seasoning).

But today I changed things a bit. 

Pam nonstick spray

1 can green beans (drained)

3 sliced mushrooms

1/2 sliced onion

1/2 sliced fresh tomato

1 egg

Parmesan cheese

(Calories: about 280 – and I’m being generous)

After spraying a pan with nonstick spray, I sautéed the seasoned vegetables until they showed some grill marks and the mushrooms and onions were soft.  I then cracked an egg over the lot and sprinkled a generous helping of parmesan cheese, covered the pan and lowered the heat.  A few minutes later, the egg had cooked, but the yolk was still soft, and the parmesan had permeated the dish.  OMG! Bliss.

Paula Deen a Spokesperson for a Diabetes Drug???

Paula Deen

Novo Nordisk HQ

Oh, for the love of Moses and all that’s holy, what have we done with our collective intelligence!  I read an article by Dr. Andrew Weil calling it a “shame” that Paula Deen has been made a spokesperson for a diabetes drug, Novo Nordisk.  A “shame”?  How about an outrage!  The message seems to be, Go ahead and eat whatever you want, as much as you want; don’t worry about your arteries or cholesterol; don’t worry about anything, cuz’ we got Novo Nordisk to save your ass!  In fact, it might seem as if the Novo Nordisk makers would actually encourage people to watch the Paula Deen show and eat exactly what she prepares! Better to foster diabetes so that you have to take our drug!  Are we THAT stupid?

I ask you, what makes Paula Deen so darn popular? Is it that draggy Texas drawl, with “y’all” peppered all over her descriptions?  Or is it her unabashed use of butter (several sticks at a time, accompanied by much joking mirth) added to gallons of sour cream, then mixed in with some mayonnaise, all prepared into what she might call a potato souffle?  Why are we so enamored with her and her cooking style?  How did we, as a nation, fall so madly in love with FAT? 

Oh, don’t get me wrong.  I love that unctuous taste on my tongue, the smooth, creamy richness of real whipped cream that’s whipped out of heavy cream with confectioners sugar – (not that ersatz stuff that comes out of a can, or Cool Whip, or some version of it).  But that rich taste can become a bit nauseating after a while.  In the last 60 years or so, our taste buds seem to have abandoned their natural desire for natural foods.  So much of what we eat nowadays is processed, that we seem to have completely forgotten what a real orange tastes like.  And all our food needs to be doctored in some way.  And how did Southern cooking get to be so heavy in lard, bacon, fat, butter and cream?

As Dr. Drew said, people have the right to watch her show and eat whatever they want.  But we are not discussing constitutional rights, here; we are discussing common sense.  We are discussing trying to improve the health of America, reduce our healthcare costs, and live within our means (health means, in this case); do what is right for our bodies, for our selves, and by extension, for our society at large. 

Think about it!

Lifespan Increase

Image via Wikipedia

In the past 100 years, our lifespan has increased by about 30 years.  At the turn of the last century, the average lifespan was about 40-50, and today it is about 70-80.  This is stunning.  The reasons for this increase are numerous, including better medical care, improved sanitation, vaccines against deadly diseases, better diet, and education.  One may well argue that some of these improvements are artificial (medicine can now keep a person alive with all sorts of tubes and resuscitation methods), but the point is that we are taller, healthier and heavier than we were a mere 100 years ago. 

Do you realize the implications?  If our lifespan increases by 30 years every 100 years, how is the earth going to support this massive growth in humanity?

Image via Wikipedia