On Brussels Sprouts.

I spent my whole life convinced that I hated Brussels sprouts.  As it turns out, that's not true.  When roasted in a stoneware pan with a little olive oil and garlic they're pretty good.  And on that note, I decided to see if I could change B'nut's perception on these little green super foods.

“B’nut, why don’t you come over here and try a roasted Brussels sprout?”

“Uh....”

“It’s ok, I tasted them. They’re really good.”

B’nut looks over toward the stove in obvious alarm.  “I don’t like them.”

“Oh?  Are you sure?  Because I’m a better cook than anyone else, so I bet you’ll like these.  You like pretty much everything I make.”

“Ok.”  She chews thoughtfully on a bite.  “You are right.  You are the best cook in the world.  These are good.”

Yep.

You heard it here:

Best Salesman Cook in the World.

I can not out-train a bad diet

Repeat after me:

“I can not out-train a bad diet.”

How many times have we heard this? I’ve read it or heard it at least a half dozen times. Maybe more.

But seriously, who believes that’s true? No one. Plus, who believes that their diet is “bad”? 

As of yesterday I had lost 9 pounds in ~6 weeks. My clothes fit. My face is lighter too. I am told daily how my new haircut looks great on me. My energy is increased and hell, even my skin is on board with the new plan. I feel and look as good as I've felt or looked in a long time. 

But, somehow, that’s not the best part.

The best parts are the moments like the one I had recently at a post ride gathering. I was chatting with an athlete who said, “Yeah, I would love to go to Tina, but I don’t know.... Don’t you feel deprived?”

I swallowed the bite of hamburger in my mouth and washed it back with a swig of amber beer.

“Um,” I drawled as I glanced down at my nearly empty glass. “No?”

We both laughed when she realized how silly that must have sounded in the moment.  I don’t feel deprived. I feel strong. I still do fun things, I just do them less frequently. I follow the plan to The T every day that I can with the knowledge that there are times when I will not have access to the foods I prefer. Thus, it allows me to make substitutions in the name of convenience or fun, without feeling deprived.

And as I said, beer is on the list of “things that are OK twice a week”, and that’s working for me.

Food Diary of the Mostly Dead

When the weird virus that got me this spring was trying to off me, what I ate was done with very little thought. I was on a HORRIBLE antibiotic that, while it cheerfully saved my life, altered the way things tasted to me. My daily eating process went like this:

some of the watermelon was
poached off this plate by a
6 yr old klingon.

“Does it taste good?”

“Yes.”

“Ok. I will eat”

Or

“Does it taste good?”

“No... then I don’t need to eat today”

Good thing that came of this: Splenda now tastes like acid to me. I have a giant pack of packets going un-used, if you live near by, holler. You’re welcome to them... Also, I now like my coffee black. Weird. I mean, I can drink it with creamer, but I can also enjoy it black.

Bad thing: I stopped eating my typical "healthy" diet with a salad a day, and didn't even realize it.

So NOW:  what am I eating? What am I avoiding?

If it comes in a package, I’m probably not eating it.

If it can spoil in 3-4 days, I’m probably eating it.

Here’s my food log for a typical day. I didn’t give up lentils... but I had to return to meat. I have completely given up milk, cheese, yogurt (~sniff~) , ice cream, etc. My dietician says this is a temporary solution, we will be tailoring the protein needs to my body.

Breakfast – 2 oz protein, 1 fruit, 1 starch

another favorite - white fish,
brown rice, greens tossed with
jalepeno infused cucumbers

2 poached eggs

½ cup cooked oatmeal (about ¾ of a serving)

½ banana

Snack – 2 oz protein, 1 fruit

2 oz Boars Head Roast Beef, or left over Chicken, etc.

1 c. watermelon

Lunch – 4 oz protein, 1 starch, 2 fats, unlimited vegs

Salad with 2 hard boiled eggs, 2 oz turkey, 1 Tbl dressing, 1/8 avocado, chopped red/green/yellow peppers, 4tbl Hummus

Snack - 2 oz protein, 1 fruit

Small Apple

1.5 Tbl Peanut Butter (*note, for many people pb is counted as a fat)

Dinner - 4 oz protein, 1 starch, 2 fats, unlimited vegs

4 oz Grilled Chicken breast*

½ c. Quinoa

Roasted summer squash mix (*olive oil used in cooking)

People are upset about the wrong things

In 2006 the CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, Mike Jeffries, made some inflammatory statements about who should be wearing the "exclusive" clothes his company sells. I find this interesting in part because by "exclusive" he meant, "sold in every single mall around the globe".

For whatever reason, these statements have recently hit the news again.

People are upset about this.

Then, Business Insider reported that Abercrombie refuses to make large-sized clothing.

People are really upset about this.

My take on it is that it's Abercrombie's prerogative... If you design the clothes, market, label and sell the clothes, you get to pick the sizes. And, after all, as one blogger pointed out, "if Abercrombie chooses not to make large sizes, this means that 60% of Americans are excluded from shopping in their stores". Simple math:  Eventually they'll have to sell larger clothing or go out of business.

Upon reading that I thought, 60%? What? No way. That seems insane. A quick trip to the CDC website should clear this right up.

My stomach flipped as I read the stats. Sixty percent is just about right. 
That's when I realized:
People are upset about the wrong thing.

According to the CDC, more than one-third of U.S. adults are obese. The official 2010 number is 35.7%. This number encompasses "over the age of 20".

I can see how once an individual reaches adulthood obese, or reaches obesity by the numbers in adulthood that getting the weight off would be a real challenge. I mean, I couldn't shed the weight stuck to me, so I called in some big guns when I saw a Physician, an OB/GYN, and eventually a Dietitian, and I'm only trying to knock back a total of 14.7 pounds. It's 10% of my body weight though.

What would it be like to be trying to lose half my body weight? So I'll give some lee way on this whole statistic. Once obese, hard to repair.

But.

Obesity should be preventible. Right?

Well, in theory, it is.

The statistic that made my stomach clench and a wave of nausea roll over me was also found on the CDC site.  "The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2010. Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to 18% over the same period". CDC

6 year olds? Seriously? I have one of those.
11... I have one of those also.

And, wait, adolescents? Isn't that the Abercrombie market?

In 2003 data was collected on high school students obesity rates. The data is scattered, because they were targeting 'at risk' populations.

By 2011 the data is less scattered. I would guess this is because by now the "at risk" population has been expanded to include more schools.

So, after looking here at this very simplified data I have to wonder, why are people upset that Abercrombie & Fitch is going to go out of business? Why aren't we panicked about the fate of our children? Or our children's peers? It's mind numbing to me.

People are upset about the wrong thing. 

Now, that's not to say people aren't upset about the growing size of Americans. I see things about it all the time.

"The government should DO something!" people shout in outraged articles and blog posts that pepper the Internet.

No.
No people.
Sorry for sharing my opinion if it offends you, but NO!

It's NOT the government's responsibility. I would personally love if the government stepped out of food politics. ALL food politics. The government is already elbow deep in policy that is harmful to the American Food "system". And yes, I found something accessible to back that statement. (an article in a little known publication called The Wall Street Journal).

When people lay the responsibility at The Government's feet, they remove their own accountability. Furthermore, they lose their sense of empowerment to adopt lifestyle changes that will positively affect their health. They blame school lunches instead of their McLifestyle.

I know, I know.

Mind my own business. Raise my children. Feed them as I choose too. Hell, give them cake for breakfast, let them top their own salads. It's my choice. and let people be upset about Abercrombie's business forecast as much as they want. At this point, I think it's pretty obvious though...

People are upset about the wrong thing. 

Vegan Mondays

I decided to ease into vegetarianism. I'm eating "veg" about 4 days a week.

I'm not giving up Fish. So I guess technically I will NOT be a vegetarian even if I ease in almost all the way. So anyway, where was I?

Lentil Spinach "burger" with Curry topped with Onion

Right. I was "easing" into this... only, the thing is, I've always wondered what it would be like to be a vegan. What makes vegans go "vegan" instead of Veg... or Pesc... or whatever-atarian? What do they eat? How do they survive without animal products?

Ok. Here you go...

They eat food. True story. Both Vegan Modays I've done I have done no special shopping. And I tried new foods when I used lentils for my protein for Vegan Saturday... er... did I mention how easy I find Vegan cooking? I'm lazy...

SO onto "How they survive?"

Ratatouille with Tofu over pasta

They use delicious things like Almond Milk (or soy milk or rice milk or ...) in their coffee and on their cereal (oh, but read the ingredients on the cereal... manufacturers sneak milk in there where it doesn't belong). They don't smear butter or mayo across their bread before putting lettuce and tomato on it. I used avocados on my sammich in the place of ~well~ pretty much everything.

And I keep a food diary online so that I can see where my calories are coming from, which shows me that in order to "go vegan" all the time, I would have to do some shopping to ensure I was getting enough Calcium. Ironically, the Iron, hasn't been an issue. Cereal is generally fortified, and GBA GF never goes a day without spinach or dried apricots or broccoli... and that pesky supplement my Md makes me take also helps.

No Cows Please

Anemic Runner seeks Iron Rich Foods to Share Long Runs on the Road, Improved Hgb Counts, and lots and lots of FLAVOR on a hardwood dinner table. Must be Easy on the Budget and Hips. 

No Cows Please.

In the last week I have eaten meat at one meal and fish twice. This was a radical change in my eating habits, I assure you... the most fun day on the menu was the day I randomly went Vegan for the day on Monday. I think I might try to go Vegan Monday & Tuesday this week. 

I still eat fish without any guilt at all, and I'm still not willing to say "I'm 100% giving up 'meat'".  Nor am I willing to 100% give up Chobani or cheese. I already don't drink milk because milk and I argue violently whenever we hook up.

However, this week I learned that there is plenty of deliciousness out there for eating... aaaaand I'm not sure that mammals need to be on my menu.