Going Nutrient Dense-Whole30-Paleo

I had been thinking of going to see a nutritionist.  At this point, working out, while not easy, was something I knew I could do consistently.  But the ingesting was something I found more difficult than waking up early to go to the gym.

Enter MindBodyHealth.  In partnership with my bootcamp, they brought in this Nutrient Dense Challenge.  We would be changing the way we eat, with a focus on eating real and healthy food as opposed to the overly sweetened, salted, chemically-altered foods.

I had already started focusing more on eating more vegetables, more fruits, less of the processed stuff.  But my downfall is ultimately sweets.  Give me a piece of chocolate to satisfy my craving any day.  Any. Day.

So, when I saw the list of foods to enjoy vs. foods to avoid, I decided I would take up this challenge.

I can get behind all the foods in the "Yes" category.  The idea, really, is to eat real food.  It's based on what is now known as the Paleo diet, called so because it's going back to the basics.  But it's refined by the folks at Whole9.com who focus more on the science and not evolutionary theory.  I bought their book, It Starts With Food, and I can honestly say I'm getting behind the stuff they're talking about.

I'm still in the first chapters of the book, but I'm feeling really committed to what they're throwing my way.

So let me address all the thoughts I had about the "No" items.

Not eating dairy is fine for the most part.  I only really crave ice cream and cheese when it's in the house and I know it's in the house.  But I also know that if I eat too much of it I get a little gassy, and that's not good for anyone involved.

Not eating soy/tofu?  Well, I've been living off soy milk for a while now.  I tried almond milk and I definitely disliked it.  I've decided to give coconut milk a try.  I like it so far, but I have to be careful about any added sweeteners.  Now, there's also soy sauce.  How am I supposed to make chicken adobo???  After a Google search, I found Coconut Aminos (which I bought at Whole Foods), and I'm more than willing to try to make chicken adobo with this.

No beans of legumes might be a bit difficult, but I don't have too much of an issue staying away from beans.  Of course, I'm kind of wondering where the plant protein will come from in this diet, but I'm assuming that the answer is "another vegetable."

No grains means no bread, no rice, no quinoa.  That also means no pancakes, no pastries, no English muffin with my bacon egg and cheese (not that I get that too often).  But wait, I thought, how do they make those vegan pancakes at the All Night Costume Dance Party every year?  I knew there had to be a way!  So, for rice I will take some cauliflower and stick it in a food processor.  For pancakes, the base will be bananas.  For pastries, there's almond and coconut flour.  Thank you, Google and the multitude of resources out there!

No alcohol will be tough on tough days.  But I can get behind that easily.  I will miss wine a bit, though.

No processed foods of any kind include no artificial sweeteners.  That means no sweets, no candies, no sweetened chocolates.  This one is probably going to be the most difficult next to no grains.  I got me a major sweet tooth.  But, I do know that I can have unsweetened chocolate, which Trader Joe's has.  Basically, anything that has a long ingredients list that includes more real food is on the No list.

For the next month, I will try to be as hardcore as possible on this new meal plan.  I refuse to call it a diet, because my main focus will not just to eat less - but eat less bad stuff.  I decided to go for the group challenge in addition to some individual coaching, for the times when it feels tough or for when I have questions.  I will be relearning how to eat, and how to make better choices.

In the second month, we get to reintroduce the different categories of foods one by one.  This way, I get to see what food groups my body doesn't like or doesn't react well with.  I already know that dairy and beans make me gassy  I already know that all that processed sugar makes me extremely tired.  So, if I know these things, it's time for me to follow through.

This challenge is going to be hard.  There will be times when I might inconvenience others, and there will be a lot of work in terms of planning meals, snacks, and eating out.  But I want to change my eating habits.  I want my body to change.  And as many a wise person has said:

I'm ready, and I know I have the love and support of those around me.  Let's do this.

20 Til 30 - Closing Doors and Opening Windows

My time with my dream job is quickly coming to an end.  By quickly, I mean by the end of next week I will no longer be an employee of Planned Parenthood.

It's heartbreaking to say the least. 

It's lead me to really think about what else I want to do in the sexual health field.  I know I'm not going to give up in trying to find my niche.

Yet, I do feel like I have to go through a bit of a mourning period.  It's amazing that I was able to get this dream job, even though it didn't manifest the way I ultimately would have liked, before I reached 30.  I think it is awesome that I get to put such a big organization on my resume.  I think I'm incredibly lucky to have the connections that I've made through the organization.

But now that this door is about to close, I'm ready to see where the next door will take me. 

I am scared.  Scared it will lead me back into the desperation I felt when I was unemployed and stuck.  But I know I am lucky to be surrounded by so many supportive people who can help encourage me and give me feedback and give me ideas.

I'm anxious about this challenge, but I know I have the tools now.

The Women in Business Manifesto
found here:
http://www.womeninbusiness.com.au/

Moving Karma

On Saturday, May 29th, the boyfriend and I helped two very good friends of ours move to a newer, larger apartment.  These friends have helped me move from my old apartment into the boyfriend's apartment, so I definitely felt that I would want to help them move to a new home.

The problem, however, is that they lived on the 3rd floor and they moved to an elevated 3rd floor (so it was like going up 4 floors).

I plugged through though, with multiple breaks.  With 5 of us moving things up and down stairs, it's really helped us move the majority of things to their new home.  

The boyfriend and I were exhausted.  We slept like logs that night.

The next morning, I woke up extremely sore!  I mean, my legs are so sore and stiff.  I'm walking funny, having trouble going up and down stairs, and just generally feeling a lot of pain.

The boyfriend has some bruising, and his extremities were swelling a bit.  But I guess I pushed myself much harder than he did, because I'm the only one who seems to be in pain.

Yet, I'm still doing so much moving around.  I'm still going to belly dance practice sessions, and generally walking around.  I feel like I can't just wait for the soreness to go away, but I do have to be careful about how I'm moving.

I've been stretching and keeping hydrated, but every time I get up from a seated position, I feel like I need a walker!  Perhaps tonight I will invest in some Epsom Salt and soak in the tub.  I can only hope that the soreness will help my weight loss along. 

All I know is, I will definitely be investing in hiring movers the next time I'm moving anywhere new.  I might even be willing to pitch in for movers the next time my friends are moving.

Damn You, Catholic Guilt...

Another year, another Lent.

Truth be told, I'm not very religious. 

My family is Catholic (as is a HUGE part of the Philippines), and I attended church with my Lola every Sunday.  When I was younger, my Lola, my mom, and I would pray the rosary every night.  I complained about how it wasted 15 minutes of my day every day.  But that was as much as I was told to do.

My parents, who grew up attending Catholic school in the Philippines, never forced me into it.  Perhaps they remembered all too well the strict punishments of the nuns.  I didn't even get my First Communion until I was in high school (and only because I was taking Confirmation classes).  I have not been Confirmed, however.

Later on, I asked my parents why they did not make me go through my First Communion when I was younger.  They proceeded to tell me that I was their guinea pig - they wanted to see if I would still come out a good person regardless of being raised in the church.  I asked how I was doing so far, and they said they wouldn't tell me.

Interestingly, I don't remember practicing Lent when I was younger.  While we ate fish on Fridays, I don't remember any feeling of "giving something up."  Only in college did I ever really learn about Lent, from one of my awesome roomies, Keri.

So, I started really thinking about Lent, and saw it as more of a challenge at bettering myself as opposed to giving something up.

Then, when I started working as a social worker, one of my coworkers, Rebecca, introduced me to the idea of adding a good habit as well as removing something that doesn't benefit me.  I thought it was a great way to feel as though I was really gaining something. 

With that, here is another Lent, and yet another list of ways I'm attempting to improve myself and my 2010.

What I'm giving up:
Using any of my credit cards (really, it's just my Old Navy, Victoria's Secret, Best Buy, and Capital One cards...only....).  I've done it once, and I can do it again!!!  I realistically can't say that I won't purchase anything new, but I will not use my credit cards!

Fun website I stumbled on:  http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/credit-card-horoscope-1273.php

What I'm taking on:

I talked a little bit about this in a previous post, but I will add one more days of movement.  With me being away in California for the past 2 weeks, I haven't really been able to devote any time to working out.  Not to mention that I really ate like I was on vacation (pho 2x, pupusas, Korean BBQ, Jack in the Box, In N Out, Filipino food.....ya.....).  Now that I'm back in Boston and hopefully back to a regular routine, it's time to up my cardio!
(pic from Hawaii 2007, Jumping Pictures in the Hotel)


Here's to success in the next 40 days!

Gettin' Back on the Heatlhy Wagon

Here's my #3 Goal for 2010:

3. Focus more on being healthy and eating smaller portions rather than the number on the scale.

This road has been a rough one.  I feel like I've spent my whole adult life working on it, and I'm still in the midst of it.

Hi.  My name is Cecilia.  I'm an emotional eater.

Butternut squash...nom nom nom...

With all that's been happening this month thus far, it's been really tough to not snack on EVERYTHING.  But, as I mentioned in an earlier post about my Goal #5, this is the year I'm going to do it.

The truth is 2009 was a great year for my weight loss.  I met a lot of inspiring people, I got really motivated and utilized my Netflix membership to save money, and I ate a lot of really healthy food that the boyfriend and I cooked ourselves.

I've totally slacked on this.  Obviously, the holidays have a way of messing with everyone's weight loss goals, so I'm trying not to be too harsh.  But I know I need to get re-motivated.

I'm going to start by re-naming my "weight loss goals" to "healthy lifestyle goals."  I have a lot of bad habits, the biggest of which is not taking care of myself when things get really stressful.

As I mentioned before, I've already signed up for yoga and pilates classes at a local studio.  I'm also taking belly dance classes 2x a week from 2 different teachers.  All of this is mainly for my mental health.  But the sweating ain't so bad either.

I will probably start up again with Jillian Michaels' DVD's.  She's super intense, but I love her workouts!  Even the 30-Day Shreds (which I stretch out to more than 30 days) are ridiculously intense for about 30 minutes a workout.

When it comes to food, well, we have a complicated relationship.  Strangely, when I was living by myself, I had an easier time staying away from a lot of snacks and so I wouldn't randomly eat stuff even when I wasn't hungry.

One thing I truly miss is our CSA membership.  It was really easy to focus on eating healthier when we needed to pick up fruits and vegetables every week.  But that's not a good excuse.  The boyfriend and I have both lacked a lot of veggie intake since the CSA ended, and we should have continued buying them in the grocery store.

Luckily (or unluckily, depending on the outcome), the yoga studio is housed in the same building as a super market.  So, I can really commit to going straight to the fruit and veggie section.  At least, until the CSA pick-ups start up again in June.

Alrighty.  Did you get all that?  Let's review shall we?

1.  Workout schedule:  Monday and Tuesday is for belly dance.  Wednesday and Thursday is for yoga and a pilates/yoga combo.  Friday with a rest day or a 30-Day Shred workout (I have to give myself some leeway...it's been a rough month, remember?), but will start committing to a 30-Day Shred workout more often than not.  Saturday is pilates.  Sunday is rest (but if I'm feeling highly motivated, I will do some belly dance practice).

2.  Buy veggies after my pilates class on Saturday - at least enough for the rest of the week.  I will start planning ahead with the boyfriend to make sure we don't over do it or waste a lot of food.  I will also start really paying attention to my moods and my hunger response.  Admitting you have a problem is the first step, right?  So, there you go.

Starting anew...

Shoulda shoulda shoulda

I guess I couldn't have left Los Angeles without getting at least one comment on either my weight or my lack of husband and children.

For a good part of my 20's, I escaped the husband and children lecture.  Clearly, since I was still in school, I needed to focus on that instead.  The weight issue is another story.

I'm Filipino.  I was taught to finish all my food because of those goddamned kids in China and Africa (even though we also came from a third-world country).  Holidays are tables fool of food (as you can see from my Christmas post) and eating the whole night.  Yes, I played outside instead of watching TV for the most part (in fact, I did not grow up watching Saved By The Bell like so many of my friends).

So, I still got chubby.  It probably didn't help that after swimming class at the YMCA, we would go to McDonald's.  It also probably didn't help that when I was around 5 or 6, I thought I needed to weigh 50 or 60 pounds, and that a 0 would be tacked onto my age as I got older.  Weird, I know.  I learned quickly that that wasn't true.  I don't weigh 270 lbs.

And while the doctors would lecture me about my weight, I was still okay with myself.  Then I started going home to visit for the holidays.  My paternal grandmother, whom I love but scares me a little, starts grabbing at my arms, "You should lose weight!  You'd be pretty if you did!"

Yikes.  I started avoided visiting her because of the comments and the arm grabbing.

My mom was another culprit.  Not a visit would go by without a comment on my weight - at least within the first 24 hours.  She would then follow her comment by saying that it's still healthy that I had fat on my body, and I would be regarded as wealthy in the Philippines.

In the past couple of years, I started getting more serious about my weight.  I joined an expensive gym, do workout DVDs at home, started counting my calories.  I lost maybe 10 lbs.  Then I started focusing more on eating more vegetables and got into riding my bike to and from work.  I lost another 10 lbs.

Still nowhere near where I'd like to be, but I'm only really unhappy with my body around my family and when I get on the scale.

But this past vacation, I almost didn't hear anything about my weight.  Almost.

nom nom nom

It's only been recently, since I've finished school, that I've gotten comments about getting married and having a family.  My maternal grandmother is the one pushing this topic this time.

The general gist is that I need to hurry up and have kids because I'm getting older.  But, now I'm getting it from my aunts and uncles on my maternal side as well.  Just when I think I was going to survive another holiday without getting lectured....well...2 days before I left for Boston, it happened.

 mickeyandminnie.tumblr.com

With that, I now present to you the dialogue between my family and me at around 11:30pm on New Years Eve.

Tito E:  You know, you should have babies now.
Me:  WHAT?? Oh my god...I'm soooo not there right now!  I'm still a baby myself!
Tito E:  Well, the older you get the harder it will be to have kids.  So you should hurry up.
Me:  But what about all my other cousins?  Are you saying the same to them?  They're older than me!
Tito E:  Well, you have a partner.
Tita B:  Yes...you already have a boyfriend.
Me:  I'm so not ready to have a family right now.
Tito E:  Well, as long as you have kids before you're 35.
Nanay (my mom):  Hah?? I'm not ready to be a Lola (grandmother)!
Me:  Thank you!! I'm glad at least we're on the same page here!
Nanay:  Besides....you should lose weight first or else you'll have a hard time....

*SIGH*

Hanging On As A Fool

Hang On Little Tomato

by Pink Martini

The sun has left and forgotten me

It’s dark, I cannot see

Why does this rain pour down

I’m gonna drown

In a sea

Of deep confusion


Somebody told me, I don’t know who

Whenever you are sad and blue

And you’re feelin’ all alone and left behind

Just take a look inside and you will find


You gotta hold on, hold on through the night

Hang on, things will be all right

Even when it’s dark

And not a bit of sparkling

Sing-song sunshine from above

Spreading rays of sunny love


Just hang on, hang on to the vine

Stay on, soon you’ll be divine

If you start to cry, look up to the sky

Something’s coming up ahead

To turn your tears to dew instead

And so I hold on to his advice

When change is hard and not so nice

If you listen to your heart the whole night through

Your sunny someday will come one day soon to you

********************


Like I mentioned before, I've been trying to stay extremely positive about all the funding cut from th organization I work for.  Everyone's been telling me to be rational...start looking for a job NOW...apply for unemployment benefits...fundraise...volunteer...

So.  My resume is updated.  I've signed up for unemployment benefits.  I still feel like I can't exactly sit around in my apartment spending time staring at the same job search results.  So.  I'm "volunteering" at my organization.  In the best of situations, something substantial comes up and I can finish my year with them.  In the worst of situations, I will continue to volunteer until the end of the month...I will keep supervising my intern...and I'll just keep searching til something happens.

I don't think people have understood, though I know they come with the best intentions.  Not that I don't appreciate the help and support and the emails with job postings attached.  But here's how it is:

If I'm a fool for sticking around because of my passion...then let me be that fool.  I can't just work at some place without truly believing in it.  I can't just suck it up and plug in at some heartless soulless job.  I can't NOT interact with the people I'm helping .  And you know what....I won't.  I would be miserable and would thus suck at that job.

The Hanged Man and The Fool

Support me...help me when I ask for it (and maybe sometimes when I'm too stubborn to ask for it)...but allow me my foolishness.

CSA Adventures: "Let's get it on."

Many of us are already well-versed in being eco-friendly, toting our reusable bags full of organic and locally grown Farmer's Market purchases on our bikes or onto the T. With all the hoopla about going "green" and "eco-friendly," it was refreshing to hear first-hand about the benefits of joining a CSA. I first learned about the marvels of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) through my lovely friend Julie (and Adam!), who waxed poetic about the awesomeness that is the weekly box of veggies delivered from a local farm.

Like a punch in the face...

**UPDATE June 6, 2009**

Went to the cute dentist, where there were a lot of young, skinny girls in the office. At first, I thought, "Wow...the Brookline (the richer neighborhood) Gentle Dental is really different from the Brighton (defnitely not rich..but not poor either) office." As I was waiting for the Doc to step into my office, and my teeth started throbbing more from having x-rays done, I couldn't help but notice all the tall, skinny girls that seemed to be having a grand ol' time...Then, the Dr. stepped into my room. "Ooohhhhhh....that's what's up," I thought. I had to laugh about it...but anyways, back to the agonizing pain.

I had already started crying when Gretchen, the Peer Mediator at BHS, asked me how I was feeling. I was tearful in the office...but I tried to stay positive, if only for my sanity.


I explained to the cute Dr. what the situation was. He tested several things. And then there was the diagnosis. It's quite possible that the back top right tooth (Number 2, I believe he called it), which had a filling, was the one causing the problems. It seems like one of the nerves are dying, and when that happens, a Root Canal needs to happen. So, I made an appointment with a specialist in the area for Friday, June 12th (which, unfortunately, is also the same day as the Pink Martini concert!).

X-ray

Meanwhile, I've got a prescription for 800mg's of Ibuprofin and Hydrocodone - that's right, folks! Vicodin! It helped me sleep last night, and the 800mg's of Ibuprofin are helping during the day.

I've seen how miserable a root canal can make someone. I'm really nervous that this leotarded tooth will prevent me from doing all the things I planned to do that weekend.

But, I hope they give me more drugs after the procedure.

Unusual Ouchies - Head Edition

**UPDATE June 5, 2009** I woke up at 5 this morning in so much pain! Excruciating :( Somehow I made it to work, but I made an appointment with a dentist for 1:30pm today. I'm hoping that the Excedrin will last me til then.

****************************

In September 2008, the boyfriend noticed that I had a small bald spot near the top of my forehead. I was quite alarmed about it. I wasn't sure if it was just that I was wrapping my wet hair in my towel too tightly or something more serious. I immediately went online and started researching "female bald spots." Though the searches would mainly return Rogaine for Women ads, several others clued me in to alopecia.

Basically, alopecia is hair loss in a spot on the body. At first, I tried not to worry too much about it, but I felt myself becoming more and more self-conscious. Then one day at work, I noticed another smaller bald spot near the top back of my head. I was hoping it was just a larger hair whorl, but after taking a picture with my cell phone, it seemed like a bigger problem.

I've always had strange scalp issues. I already had a pre-existing bald spot on my head (though I couldn't tell you where it is now) from receiving stitches after jumping into a glass table (it's a funny story, I promise). When I moved to Los Angeles from the Philippines, my scalp would have this occasional itch - in humid weather, when it was wet, or even just sitting here. I don't have serious dandruff, though there is some dryness. But I have been mistaken for having lice. One time in college, this girl insisted on checking me for lice in our co-ed bathrooms, regardless of how many times I explained that my scalp was just itchy sometimes (I'm sure she was projecting since she had just cleared her scabies).

But this baldness was on a whole new level. First, I talked with the boyfriend and he consulted some of his Traditional Chinese Medicine books. But I also asked my boss and supervisor because of her holistic medicine practices. They both mentioned not putting too much strain on my hair, putting it in tight ponytails or buns. But it also seemed like it could be stress related. Both of them also thought that it might be related to some intense and recent changes in my life. Quite possible - becoming half the staff of a non-profit org, getting the HPV vaccine, stress at home. It all was adding up.

Within a couple of months, I had an appointment with a dermatologist (their schedules book really quickly! So, if you need a dermatologist appointment, do it sooner than later!). He concluded that it was alopecia, but that there wasn't any specific triggers for it. Being an autoimmune skin disease, it could be stress related, change in horomones, both, or neither. For most cases, hair will just grow back on its own, but there were treatments for it as well. His treatment suggestion was to get a shot of steroids into the bald spots or for me to get a steroid cream. I opted for the cream.

At the same time, I went to a local Dan Dan Herbal, in Allston, MA. After taking my pulse and showing the guy my bald spots, he mentioned that it was related to not having good blood flow to my head/upper body. That was quite interesting actually, considering that my body was working overtime with the HPV vaccine and focusing on the lower body (I'm pretty sure that all of that is so incorrect....but I'm not claiming to be any type of professional here, okay?). But he also gave me a couple of pills to take (about 15 tiny pellets, 3 times a day)

I had several follow-up sessions within 4 months, but it was almost unnecessary since the hair almost immediately started growing back. I'll admit that it was a very long, self-conscious 4 months. Today, it just looks like I have "baby hairs" growing in those bald spots.

Because I felt so self-conscious, I felt the need to be really open about it with all my friends. Interestingly, some of them completely related to the experience. One friend (who is a year older than me) had a bald spot that hadn't seen any growth in close to a year. When I was done using the cream, I offered for him to take it. I'm not sure what the status of his hair growth is currently, but I hope there's progress for him too.

Recently, my boss called me to ask about the progress of my alopecia. After telling her that it had basically disappeared, she told me that her daughter (who is the same age as me) was having the same problem. So, I tried to reassure her that it was an apparently normal phenomenon. But we both mused at the fact that all the people who were having hair loss issues were in the same age bracket. A coincidence? Perhaps. But interesting nonetheless.

I will say, though, that I'm proud that I managed to turn my little experience with alopecia into something useful. For Halloween, I was "The Winner of a Cat Fight".

Number 1, baby!

***********************************

Now, I'm having another head-centered health issue, possibly stress related once again. Recently, I woke up in the middle of the night with my teeth and jaw hurting with such an intense pain. The next morning, I wasn't sure if I was dreaming it. But the pain returned later that day. After several days of talking to the boyfriend and my boss, and several days of pain and me paying close attention to it (not that I can really ignore the pain), I'm pretty sure I am having a little bout of TMJ disorder (little is not how it feels right now).

Picture from Wikipedia

This week has not been a good week for sleeping early. Yet, it's not been a necessarily stressful week at work either (mainly just a lot of concerns about finances or lack thereof). Yet, when I woke up this morning, I could feel my right jaw misaligning and I could feel the sharp pain in my teeth. Luckily, I was able to make a dentist appointment for next Tuesday. But what to do til then?

I don't want to have to take Ibuprofin or any other drugs throughout the day, though I do have white willow bark pills at home (which Leti clued me to). But, they don't really work very well, unfortunately. The boyfriend suggested a couple of pressure points for me to try. I've been relying on them all day. They work temporarily and there is still some lingering pain, but the pressure points only really seem to numb the area temporarily anyway. For those who might need some temporary toothache relief, here is the article that I've had open in my browser all day:

How to Relieve a Toothache with Pressure Points | eHow.com
Shared via AddThis

Here's hoping that after my dentist visit next week, this is the last of my head ouchies.