You really do learn something everyday, I guess. And who would of thought I would have learned something from The Majestic's bartender last night while ordering the mixed grill special I enjoyed during a visit with Alison and her mom. I've jokingly referred to myself as a fish-otarian lately (and did so again in yesterday's blog post and when I ordered last night) but, as Mike (the bartender) pointed out, there is a well-established word for my evening diet: pescetarianism. Am I the last person to know this term or is this news to you, too? Anyway, I'm really glad to know that there is a legitimate label for the way I'm eating these days.
I'm off to the gym before a couple of appointments and many little projects today. I'm working part-time this month to ease back into things and today is my day "off," which means I'll just run around trying to get a million things done all day. And I do need to get a lot done today as I have a pretty crazy weekend ahead, including Krista and Michael's choral concert tonight; an all-day workshop for ovarian cancer survivors tomorrow and 5K race on Sunday morning, both of which are part of the GCF's inaugural Gyncecological Cancer Awareness Weekend; a condowarming party in the city Saturday night; and a bridal shower for Michelle on Sunday afternoon. I'm happily exhausted just thinking about all of it! Check back on Monday for a round-up of the whirlwind weekend.
Dieter's Digest: Thursday, November 5, 2009
Perhaps because I just sat down to eat my homemade veggie sandwich for lunch or perhaps because I constantly get questions about my diet -- what I'm eating these days and more frequently, what I'm not -- I thought I'd fill everyone in. I don't believe in hard and fast rules about very much and this is particularly true when it comes to food. Why? Because I love it SO MUCH. I love all of it -- meat, cheese (my first love in life, actually...), pasta, seafood, veggies, fruit...everything! In fact, one time during a road trip a friend challenged me to name one food that I really didn't like. The best I could come up with: olives. And even though it's true that I really don't like them (too salty for me!) , I'll still eat them. Despite this, or maybe because of it actually, it was relatively easy for me to give up meat (red, white, and everything in between), dairy (even my beloved blue cheese...), coffee, some fruits, etc. early on in my treatment when I was doing a ton of reading about the positive effects a non-inflammatory Eastern diet (think vegan) could have on one's health outcomes. Now that I'm finished with with treatment, I have relaxed a few rules (not many, really) but here's what a typical day looks for me:
I'm vegan about 90% of the time for breakfast, lunch, and snacks throughout the day. I'll have a bowl of my beloved Ezekiel cereal for breakfast with non-dairy "milk" (I like coconut but almond or rice would do just as well; NO soy for me...it's got the estrogen), and either berries or raisins. As it gets colder, I'll probably go back to steel cut oats for breakfast again and will eat the oats with raisins or frozen berries. Snacks are generally a piece of fruit (I'm lovin' Gala apples these days) or some raw nuts (much healthier than roasted ones) or some carrots and hummus (hummus is a central part of my diet these days). Lunch generally consists of a delicious veggie sandwich. Today's selection: Carrots, broccoli sprouts, cucumber, hummus, pesto, and roasted red peppers on...you guessed it...Ezekiel sprouted wheat bread. Do you people know about sprouts? Well, if you don't, you should. My friend Christy and I have become obsessed with them lately (she's actually growing her own...). Here's a little sprout trivia for you: Famous for it's antioxidant content, broccoli sprouts can contain something like 50 times the sulfurophane found in mature broccoli, by weight, so you get as much antioxidant in 1 ounce of broccoli sprouts as you would if you ate 3 pounds of fully grown broccoli. Now you see why we're diggin' them?
Anyway, all of the rules are relaxed considerably for dinner. This is because I do love food and it is comfort for me (fortunately, that's never caused a big problem for me since I like mostly healthy food) so at the end of a long day I don't really want to be uptight about what I'm eating, particularly since I love catching up with friends over dinner at restaurants and their homes. And I would NEVER want to be "that guest" for which the hostess practically develops an ulcer when determining what he/she can make that will be acceptable. I find those people really obnoxious. So, at dinner I'm a wild fish-oterian. And sometimes a shellfish-oterian. In addition to wild caught seafood, I'll eat inflammatory things like butter, white bread, some cheese (although, I try to limit it to goat and sheep's cheese because those are the healthiest -- the smaller the animal, the better the cheese), and some other dairy if it's in a cream sauce or dessert or something. Also, every now and again (I can only think of two times, actually), I'll eat a grass fed burger. Oh, and I'll indulge in a veggie pizza every now and again, as well. See, I just can't live with hard and fast rules, which leads me to...
Alcohol. I love it as much as I love food. I come by that naturally from my McGihon genes. Now, if I wanted to lead a truly Anti-Cancer lifestyle, I would only indulge in one glass of organic red wine per day. Well, folks, that just ain't happening. At least not during this phase of my life. And I'm okay with that. I have cut back considerably but I will not try to claim I am or will ever be able to keep it to just one glass of red a day. These days I generally have two glasses of organic (to avoid the sulphates) white wine (red still isn't agreeing with me following treatment) about five days a week. If I'm out with friends on the weekend, it might be more. If I'm home alone, I might not drink at all.
What else? I'm not really regular about anything else with my diet and nutrition. I'm supposed to be taking a multi-vitamin and calcium supplements everyday but they cause problems for me (I made the mistake of taking my vitamin five minutes before eating my cereal the other morning and I barfed up all of my breakfast in my kitchen sink...fun times!) so sometimes I take them and sometimes I don't. I also really need to get into vegetable juicing as there is great evidence of its role in good health outcomes but here's the thing: I need to get a good juicer and they're not cheap and it's messy and my kitchen is small. I know, I know. I need to stop making excuses and just do it. Maybe that will be my New Year's resolution?
Anyway, that's it. That's what I am and am not eating these days. Hope that this clears things up for everyone.
I'm vegan about 90% of the time for breakfast, lunch, and snacks throughout the day. I'll have a bowl of my beloved Ezekiel cereal for breakfast with non-dairy "milk" (I like coconut but almond or rice would do just as well; NO soy for me...it's got the estrogen), and either berries or raisins. As it gets colder, I'll probably go back to steel cut oats for breakfast again and will eat the oats with raisins or frozen berries. Snacks are generally a piece of fruit (I'm lovin' Gala apples these days) or some raw nuts (much healthier than roasted ones) or some carrots and hummus (hummus is a central part of my diet these days). Lunch generally consists of a delicious veggie sandwich. Today's selection: Carrots, broccoli sprouts, cucumber, hummus, pesto, and roasted red peppers on...you guessed it...Ezekiel sprouted wheat bread. Do you people know about sprouts? Well, if you don't, you should. My friend Christy and I have become obsessed with them lately (she's actually growing her own...). Here's a little sprout trivia for you: Famous for it's antioxidant content, broccoli sprouts can contain something like 50 times the sulfurophane found in mature broccoli, by weight, so you get as much antioxidant in 1 ounce of broccoli sprouts as you would if you ate 3 pounds of fully grown broccoli. Now you see why we're diggin' them?
Anyway, all of the rules are relaxed considerably for dinner. This is because I do love food and it is comfort for me (fortunately, that's never caused a big problem for me since I like mostly healthy food) so at the end of a long day I don't really want to be uptight about what I'm eating, particularly since I love catching up with friends over dinner at restaurants and their homes. And I would NEVER want to be "that guest" for which the hostess practically develops an ulcer when determining what he/she can make that will be acceptable. I find those people really obnoxious. So, at dinner I'm a wild fish-oterian. And sometimes a shellfish-oterian. In addition to wild caught seafood, I'll eat inflammatory things like butter, white bread, some cheese (although, I try to limit it to goat and sheep's cheese because those are the healthiest -- the smaller the animal, the better the cheese), and some other dairy if it's in a cream sauce or dessert or something. Also, every now and again (I can only think of two times, actually), I'll eat a grass fed burger. Oh, and I'll indulge in a veggie pizza every now and again, as well. See, I just can't live with hard and fast rules, which leads me to...
Alcohol. I love it as much as I love food. I come by that naturally from my McGihon genes. Now, if I wanted to lead a truly Anti-Cancer lifestyle, I would only indulge in one glass of organic red wine per day. Well, folks, that just ain't happening. At least not during this phase of my life. And I'm okay with that. I have cut back considerably but I will not try to claim I am or will ever be able to keep it to just one glass of red a day. These days I generally have two glasses of organic (to avoid the sulphates) white wine (red still isn't agreeing with me following treatment) about five days a week. If I'm out with friends on the weekend, it might be more. If I'm home alone, I might not drink at all.
What else? I'm not really regular about anything else with my diet and nutrition. I'm supposed to be taking a multi-vitamin and calcium supplements everyday but they cause problems for me (I made the mistake of taking my vitamin five minutes before eating my cereal the other morning and I barfed up all of my breakfast in my kitchen sink...fun times!) so sometimes I take them and sometimes I don't. I also really need to get into vegetable juicing as there is great evidence of its role in good health outcomes but here's the thing: I need to get a good juicer and they're not cheap and it's messy and my kitchen is small. I know, I know. I need to stop making excuses and just do it. Maybe that will be my New Year's resolution?
Anyway, that's it. That's what I am and am not eating these days. Hope that this clears things up for everyone.
What Do They Think?: Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Well, I'm pleased to report that my first day back to work went just fine. Loaner dog survived it too. He was rewarded for his good behavior with a long walk to the dog park and some good playtime (in the dark, of course). Now that I'm at the computer for several hours a day, you can expect pretty regular blog updates once again. I've been meaning to write this particular post for over a month -- ever since my last treatment back on September 23. I ponder this question almost daily and did just this morning on my walk with loaner dog.
As I'm sure many other cancer patients would as well, I'd pay good money to know what thoughts go through a health care provider's head as a patient, particularly a young one, finishes treatment for a pretty serious diagnosis. They're all smiles and hugs and are filled with congratulatory statements but what do they really think about your prognosis? Do they think...
"Well, we've done everything we can and hopefully, she'll be lucky," or...
"Poor thing. She thinks she's beat this but I bet she'll be back," or...
"Well, hopefully she'll have some fun and live a good life before this rears its head again," or...
"Thank God this isn't my kid," or...
"Who knows...maybe she really will be okay because she responded so well to treatment," or...
And the list goes on and on. Maybe they think all of these things. Maybe they really don't think much at all. Maybe they just hope like hell that each patient they treat will be on the right side of the statistics even though they know in their heads -- and hearts -- that not all of them can be. No matter. Fortunately, I was taught not to pay too much attention to what other people think about me, which will hopefully allow me to let go of this question after writing this today and live a long, happy life.
Okay, back to my email clean out...you'd be amazed about how much time it takes to get your inbox and various project folders organized after a seven month absence.
As I'm sure many other cancer patients would as well, I'd pay good money to know what thoughts go through a health care provider's head as a patient, particularly a young one, finishes treatment for a pretty serious diagnosis. They're all smiles and hugs and are filled with congratulatory statements but what do they really think about your prognosis? Do they think...
"Well, we've done everything we can and hopefully, she'll be lucky," or...
"Poor thing. She thinks she's beat this but I bet she'll be back," or...
"Well, hopefully she'll have some fun and live a good life before this rears its head again," or...
"Thank God this isn't my kid," or...
"Who knows...maybe she really will be okay because she responded so well to treatment," or...
And the list goes on and on. Maybe they think all of these things. Maybe they really don't think much at all. Maybe they just hope like hell that each patient they treat will be on the right side of the statistics even though they know in their heads -- and hearts -- that not all of them can be. No matter. Fortunately, I was taught not to pay too much attention to what other people think about me, which will hopefully allow me to let go of this question after writing this today and live a long, happy life.
Okay, back to my email clean out...you'd be amazed about how much time it takes to get your inbox and various project folders organized after a seven month absence.
Change is in the Air: Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Change is in the air and in more ways than one: First, it's Election Day today in Virginia. So, it's out with the old and in with the new. I suppose we'll know by 8 or 9 p.m. or so who are new governor will be. It will be interesting to see if whomever we elect is able to do something about our traffic issues in nothern Virginia, which I've become keenly aware of during a few recent trips along the I-95 corridor. Doubtful. Second, we turned back our clocks on Sunday and along with that change comes pretty cold temps in the morning and dark skies by 5 p.m. I HATE IT WHEN WE FALL BACK. I walked loaner dog this morning in a polar fleece hat and my new puffy coat for winter and was still a littely chilly. Ugh. And there's one more BIG change...
Today is my first day back to work, except for a brief stint back in June, in about SEVEN months. I must say, I am *fabulous* at collecting a paycheck I don't have to work for. So, now it's back to the grind. Oh well, I guess I should embrace the fact that I'm well enough to work, right? Also, it really will be good for me to put my brain back to work a bit. Like my cardiovascular and muscular strength, my brain power has definitely been depleted a bit over the past several months so it will be good to work it out a bit. I think I'll adjust much better to my new work schedule than loaner dog. He's used to having me around or in and out throughout the day and now his bladder will be tested when I leave him for eight to nine hour stretches. I bet his "grandmother" will take pity on him and be over to get him out in the early afternoon most days that I'm in the office. Just like the rest of us, he'll have to learn that all good things must come to an end.
Today is my first day back to work, except for a brief stint back in June, in about SEVEN months. I must say, I am *fabulous* at collecting a paycheck I don't have to work for. So, now it's back to the grind. Oh well, I guess I should embrace the fact that I'm well enough to work, right? Also, it really will be good for me to put my brain back to work a bit. Like my cardiovascular and muscular strength, my brain power has definitely been depleted a bit over the past several months so it will be good to work it out a bit. I think I'll adjust much better to my new work schedule than loaner dog. He's used to having me around or in and out throughout the day and now his bladder will be tested when I leave him for eight to nine hour stretches. I bet his "grandmother" will take pity on him and be over to get him out in the early afternoon most days that I'm in the office. Just like the rest of us, he'll have to learn that all good things must come to an end.
Gym Rat, er, Whore?: Monday, November 2, 2009
I'm cheating on my gym right now and pretty soon I'm going to break-up with it. It's really sad because it's been a good gym to me but it's time we said goodbye. There's a new gym in town and while it hasn't really stolen my heart, it just makes so much sense to join in my head that I need to make the switch. Hopefully, if it doesn't work out with the new gym, my old gym will take me back. Regardless, I know I need to make the move. I'll get over my guilt soon enough...I think.
Okay, so here's the deal: My current gym, Energy Club, is super convenient to my house, is clean, has good equipment, great trainers, and offers Pilates reformer (at an additional cost) BUT it's about $80 per month plus the cost of Pilates reformer and/or training, which isn't cheap. As you know, I'm training for a sprint triathlon, which will be held next October, and since I SUCK at swimming, I really need to go to a gym that has a pool and certified swim instructors. And that's what my new gym, xSports, has got...plus, about 60,000 square feet more than Energy Club AND is half the cost. I mean, it's a no brainer, right? I shouldn't feel guilty, should I? But I still do. I think it's because I know that many others at my current gym are making the same switch and I'm not sure it will survive the mass exodus. In order to ease my guilt, I bought a package of small group Pilates reformer classes when I gave my thirty day notice to the gym. I know, pathetic right? But the Pilates really is helping rebuild my core so that's how I justified it.
I'll let you know how things go with the new gym...fingers crossed!
Okay, so here's the deal: My current gym, Energy Club, is super convenient to my house, is clean, has good equipment, great trainers, and offers Pilates reformer (at an additional cost) BUT it's about $80 per month plus the cost of Pilates reformer and/or training, which isn't cheap. As you know, I'm training for a sprint triathlon, which will be held next October, and since I SUCK at swimming, I really need to go to a gym that has a pool and certified swim instructors. And that's what my new gym, xSports, has got...plus, about 60,000 square feet more than Energy Club AND is half the cost. I mean, it's a no brainer, right? I shouldn't feel guilty, should I? But I still do. I think it's because I know that many others at my current gym are making the same switch and I'm not sure it will survive the mass exodus. In order to ease my guilt, I bought a package of small group Pilates reformer classes when I gave my thirty day notice to the gym. I know, pathetic right? But the Pilates really is helping rebuild my core so that's how I justified it.
I'll let you know how things go with the new gym...fingers crossed!
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