Well folks, it has been a week and I successfully consumed a green smoothie before work everyday this week. Additionally, I went 2 or 3 days without any meat (fish, red meat, chicken). I also started reincorporating vitamins into my daily regimen. Here are my results- I have a sinus infection! Seriously...but, that is not the only thing (and there has been a bug going around the office). This week I felt more satisfied and full then over before. And for those of you that know me- I didn't have a stomach ache all week (that is a really big deal)! My findings lead me to believe that I was less hungry as the day went on because I was eating more in the earlier parts of the day- when the body is more able to digestive foods successfully, and had less cravings because I was feeding my body nutrients, not crap. For example, many times, when we are craving chips, our bodies are actually craving salt, and associate salty foods with chips. Because I was essentially pumping my body with nutrients, my cravings had subsided almost completely. I continued to eat my normal oatmeal breakfast, but this week incorporated a larger lunch that was higher in calories, healthy fats, and nutrients. For example, I prepared a quinoa tofu stir fry with veggies. Because the meal wasn't high in oils or unhealthy fats, I did not feel weighed down come 3PM and actually felt more energized. By dinner time, I found that I wasn't sprinting through the door after work in complete starvation, throwing whatever food in my mouth that was most readily available. Instead of mindless eating, I took the time to prepare my dinners, and when it was ready, I was hungry and enjoyed each bite. I also only had dessert once or twice this week, which is HUGE for me, and manly just because I wasn't hungry. One of my favorite findings from this experiment is that I didn't feel left out! Because my cravings had subsided, I didn't feel as though everyone else was partaking in the fun and I just wasn't allowed to join in. I had no desire to join in. And in fact, I brought my own meal over to friend's house this weekend (the gluten and dairy free version of their meal) and was able to be social and enjoy with everyone, but still feel great afterwards! Many people asked what I was eating, which sparked an interesting conversation that I was happy to take part in. My main lesson for the world through this experiment- try incorporating something that is high in nutrients into your diet, without replacing anything else- and see how you feel. Begin to investigate your cravings and what they really mean (are you craving sweets because you are tired and looking for a boost of energy, or because they are a comfort food to you and you've had a bad day). Exploring with these kinds of foods can enable you to feel great, get to know your body better...and feeling left out will no longer be :)
xoxo AA
"Have courage and be kind." - Cinderella
Showing posts with label Diet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Diet. Show all posts
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Social Dieting
Hello out there! I just wanted to let all of you know that I will soon be migrating over to a a newly formatted blog. That said, I will have my "fresh start" blog in the coming weeks!
On a complete side note, and something I felt the need to sort out and write about, the food arena has been playing a major role in life these days. As many of you may or may not know, I recently started school for Holistic nutrition as it has become a passion of mine through the adventures of learning more about my own food allergies. Holistic nutrition takes a non-traditional approach, affirming that there is no 1 diet that fits all. Food items heavily marketed by the government, such as dairy (Got Milk?), red meat (Where's the beef?) and sugary juice drinks (Florida's Natural Orange Juice) are taken into consideration, but overall, viewed as a non-necessity to one's diet according to this program. With my own food allergies, I haven't been eating the 1st 2 foods mentioned above for about 2 years now, but in an effort to dig deeper and really explore my own eating habits, I have recently tried to rid myself of the 3rd. No folks, not just orange juice...all sugars. Up until yesterday, I thought to myself, "this was going to be pretty easy." A life mostly without bread, dairy, and red meat is not that difficult- so how bad could getting rid of sugar be? BAD....REALLY FREAKING BAD. Why? Because I am pretty sure I am a sugar addict. Let me set the scene for you: every week I eat oatmeal and some fruit I store at my desk for breakfast, prepare all of my lunches for the weekdays, and try to have a light dinner. With my awesome new job, not only are there tasty treats laying around all over the office like landmines, but food gets catered in at least once a week. Yesterday in particular was a double whammy. The Santa Monica office came to visit...and brought 15 boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts with them. Good thing I had already had breakfast and wasn't hungry- barely bypassed those sweets. And quite frankly, until someone removed the boxes I was 'dreaming of sugar plums dancing in my head.' A few hours later, 20+ boxes of Domino's pizza made their way through the doors and were set down on the ping pong table right near my desk. Not only was the smell of bubbly cheese and crispy crust wafting right towards me...but the mad rush of people that also must have smelled what I smelled, came barreling through. In a lame effort to defend myself from the pizza smells, I whipped out my trusty salad and tried to continue along my merry way. IMPOSSIBLE. My salad seemed like a pile of prunes compared to the delicious meal I knew was readily available only steps away. That was when I finally realized that not only was this food pleasing to the taste buds, but that consuming this "special occasion" food together was a social event. And because I wasn't taking part in it, I felt completely left out. My question is then, why is our relationship with food such an important one that we feel like we can't just "leave it" or are "let down" if we don't consume it? I am of course not speaking for everywhere here but I know that many of you would agree that the temptations are nearly uncontrollable at times. When we don't satisfy a temptation we almost feel punished, like we weren't allowed to be apart of the fun. And when we are able to take part in the tasty eating, we let everyone know, by posting pictures of our dishes on Instagram and Facebook- commenting on how good the food was and telling all of our friends that they too must try it. So, in an effort to change this philosophy, I going to use my own diet as an experiment to see if it is possible to change this way of thinking towards food. How can I feel rewarded by eating healthy and ultimately feeling better, as apposed to feeling punished for not eating, well, put plain and simply...crap? One dietary ideology known as "crowding out" suggests adding more healthy foods (such as whole grains and veggies) while maintaining your regular diet. The idea here is that the healthy foods will eventually start to replace the less healthy and therefore "crowd" them out. So- next week's plan? Green juice every morning, while still sticking with my oatmeal concoction that is loaded with sugar for breakfast. Maybe I'll feel too full/satisfied and want to just go with the green smoothie every morning? We shall see! Wish me luck :)
xoxo AA
On a complete side note, and something I felt the need to sort out and write about, the food arena has been playing a major role in life these days. As many of you may or may not know, I recently started school for Holistic nutrition as it has become a passion of mine through the adventures of learning more about my own food allergies. Holistic nutrition takes a non-traditional approach, affirming that there is no 1 diet that fits all. Food items heavily marketed by the government, such as dairy (Got Milk?), red meat (Where's the beef?) and sugary juice drinks (Florida's Natural Orange Juice) are taken into consideration, but overall, viewed as a non-necessity to one's diet according to this program. With my own food allergies, I haven't been eating the 1st 2 foods mentioned above for about 2 years now, but in an effort to dig deeper and really explore my own eating habits, I have recently tried to rid myself of the 3rd. No folks, not just orange juice...all sugars. Up until yesterday, I thought to myself, "this was going to be pretty easy." A life mostly without bread, dairy, and red meat is not that difficult- so how bad could getting rid of sugar be? BAD....REALLY FREAKING BAD. Why? Because I am pretty sure I am a sugar addict. Let me set the scene for you: every week I eat oatmeal and some fruit I store at my desk for breakfast, prepare all of my lunches for the weekdays, and try to have a light dinner. With my awesome new job, not only are there tasty treats laying around all over the office like landmines, but food gets catered in at least once a week. Yesterday in particular was a double whammy. The Santa Monica office came to visit...and brought 15 boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts with them. Good thing I had already had breakfast and wasn't hungry- barely bypassed those sweets. And quite frankly, until someone removed the boxes I was 'dreaming of sugar plums dancing in my head.' A few hours later, 20+ boxes of Domino's pizza made their way through the doors and were set down on the ping pong table right near my desk. Not only was the smell of bubbly cheese and crispy crust wafting right towards me...but the mad rush of people that also must have smelled what I smelled, came barreling through. In a lame effort to defend myself from the pizza smells, I whipped out my trusty salad and tried to continue along my merry way. IMPOSSIBLE. My salad seemed like a pile of prunes compared to the delicious meal I knew was readily available only steps away. That was when I finally realized that not only was this food pleasing to the taste buds, but that consuming this "special occasion" food together was a social event. And because I wasn't taking part in it, I felt completely left out. My question is then, why is our relationship with food such an important one that we feel like we can't just "leave it" or are "let down" if we don't consume it? I am of course not speaking for everywhere here but I know that many of you would agree that the temptations are nearly uncontrollable at times. When we don't satisfy a temptation we almost feel punished, like we weren't allowed to be apart of the fun. And when we are able to take part in the tasty eating, we let everyone know, by posting pictures of our dishes on Instagram and Facebook- commenting on how good the food was and telling all of our friends that they too must try it. So, in an effort to change this philosophy, I going to use my own diet as an experiment to see if it is possible to change this way of thinking towards food. How can I feel rewarded by eating healthy and ultimately feeling better, as apposed to feeling punished for not eating, well, put plain and simply...crap? One dietary ideology known as "crowding out" suggests adding more healthy foods (such as whole grains and veggies) while maintaining your regular diet. The idea here is that the healthy foods will eventually start to replace the less healthy and therefore "crowd" them out. So- next week's plan? Green juice every morning, while still sticking with my oatmeal concoction that is loaded with sugar for breakfast. Maybe I'll feel too full/satisfied and want to just go with the green smoothie every morning? We shall see! Wish me luck :)
xoxo AA
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