I just finished my 3rd week of metabolic aftershock. Oh my goodness. I was having a lot of joint pain before I started, but I realized that when I hurt my shoulder last spring, I’d quit moving because my shoulder hurt. So the shoulder got better and the rest of me was a mess. I can’t believe how much better I feel today and how much easier it is to move!
The only complaint I have involved the ordering process. It took forever and was way too gimmicky, but well worth the hassel.
I ran across PCRM (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine) years ago trying to find some help outside of pharmaceuticals for my migraines. I’ve been following them on a more or less regular basis since and have learned quite a bit from reading their materials. This started with their Natural Approach to Migraines. If you suffer from migraines, give it a read.
Yesterday, they posted a blurb about a study on exercise. Exercise is healthy (can anyone dispute that?), but it is not a determining factor in how much a child weighs. Socioeconomic status was relevant. While the study was done on 3-6 year olds, I cannot help but make the personal connection to the food we find in too many school cafeterias. However, just a little research shows that students throw better food choices away – something I personally saw in my last school when more fruits and veggies were placed on plates. So what is the answer?
I jumped into the world of juicing last week. I’d been reading about juicing. It kept cropping up periodically in my journey from vegetarian to vegan. But at the beginning, just concentrating on eating whole plant foods was enough. What really made me want to take the plunge, however, was watching Joe Cross’s movie, Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. What a change juicing made in his life.
Ron and I headed out on a juicer hunt. We ended up with the Bella pictured to the side. I didn’t want to get an expensive one in case I didn’t like it, but I didn’t want to get one that was so cheap that it fell apart in the first week or worse – didn’t make quality juice.
I drank juice for breakfast and took three to work with me in mason jars for snacks and lunch. Most of my dinners were spinach salads. One night we splurged and I ate a grilled vegetable sandwich on rye with a side of fruit salad.
What I’m trying to decide is if I like juicing better than blending. The blender is much easier to clean up and there is much less waste than with the juicer. Blending keeps all the parts of the food and seems more filling, but the taste of the juice is oh so wonderful (absolutely wonderful!).
I knew MSG was no good for us, but I didn’t know that it not only contributes to obesity, but it is in all kinds of products. I did a search on MSG induced obesity. This link is a couple of years old, but I love the charts. Make sure you look at the mice made obese by MSG injections! Ick!
MSG causes obesity and you won’t believe where it is hiding!
It’s been almost two weeks since moving my desk to waist high. The first few days were the hardest, but it was also a very hard week at school. Since I stand nearly all day, I was unsure what standing in the evenings would be like.
Standing has become more of a habit. I do still have the stool out for an occasional perch. I’ve got some shoes that are easier to stand in than others. Huge surprise there. ;P I think I’ve been more productive, but that’s a bit subjective as every day’s workload is different. I do know I’ve been sleeping better.
So, I think I’ll keep it up. I may have to look for a bigger work space though. I had to get the ironing board out and put it beside my smaller work area to sort papers from which I was gathering info for a paper. When I was finished though, the papers went in the recycling bin and the ironing board went back in the closet. That may actually be a real solution. I’ve also got plenty of room on my desktop now for sorting. I’ve got problem solving packets in various stages on it now and they would have previously covered the kitchen table.
Today my legs felt like they’d gotten a workout yesterday, so I came home today and stood again. I got Tuesday – Friday’s lessons written, all standing. Tomorrow, I won’t be home until very late, but I’ll try to stand as much as possible where I am.
A funny side note was that I noticed today how much the kids want to sit. They don’t mind standing to play at recess for the most part, but if I ask them to stand for any length of time (like for the pledge 😉 ) they start tugging at their chairs like the period of time is endless.
I have been reading a lot lately about how much healthier it is to stand while you work. As a teacher, most of my day has been spent standing, but when I get home (especially due to grad school), I’m a slave to my computer and desk and consequently the desk chair. Working on projects, papers, research, etc. means way to much sitting and I’ve noticed pains in places that I don’t normally get them – like my lower back and hips.
So, I pretty much cleaned off my desk (left my netbook because it gets moved everywhere anyway)
and moved my main laptop and the second screen to a higher surface. The workspace is much smaller which will also take some getting used to, but this doesn’t have to be a permanent fix – just long enough to see what I think about it.
A couple of the articles I read said that the first week was the hardest.That does seem reasonable.
Articles are easy enough to find, but here is a NY Times piece that is a nice summary.
If you are curious about cholesterol, this is a pretty good explanation.
A friend was telling me about this last night at the school board meeting.
Is your favorite drink on this list?
Look at the sugar content on some of these babies!
When I was younger, I could eat like the proverbial horse and not gain a pound. I was active, I had great metabolism, I was young. Then about the time the kids were in middle school, it hit. I gained. I went from skinny to plump at the speed of light. Man! How in the world did that happen? Kids go off to college, it’s just Ron and I, and it’s time. Fat has got to go. I take a large amount of it off by mainly eliminating sugars – but anything that had empty calories in it had to go. I managed to keep it off eating that way for years. Desserts are NOT your friend. I’d gain a few when I loosened up on my eating habits and then I’d tighten back up and they’d fall off.
Well, last year when I lost my job and had to start looking again, I just flat out let the diet go. I didn’t care, life wasn’t fair, I was absolutely NOT thinking! Then I get a job where I’m in the car sitting hours longer than previously, and somewhere in that time, I gained 15 pounds! Many more than I’d let rack up previously. How could I have been so careless?
A couple of months ago, I decided I had to get back into my better eating routine. Better shape. These pounds have to go, so sugar is out again. Empty calories are not welcome. This go round, I have lost 8 pounds – about a pound a week. Half way to where I want to be. It’s not “falling” off like it did before though. It’s slipping off. Is it age? Has my metabolism changed that much? Are the minerals I’m taking now for my migraines making a difference? I don’t know, but it’s harder this go round.
Jack Of All Trades 
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