FUN FINDS...Days 7, 8 & 9...

Day 7:

Baliwood Exercise video:

on In Demand is surprisingly AWESOME! My shoulders were in pain when I finished. I love running but it's nice to mix it up a bit.  

Kashi - Honey & Sunshine:

I was working on a project on Sunday and it's extremely important. If I thought day 6 was hard...day 7 was harder. I didn't do anything too drastic or horrible...I just bought Kashi cereal and had it with unsweetened Almond Milk. It was a yummy treat. I know Kashi is totally healthy (if you're a cereal person, and I am), but I've never really liked any of the flavors. I try, but never really that satisfying. Honey & Sunshine is gooooooood!!!!

Almond Milk UNSWEETENED:

Never liked the kinds I've tried before. They've always been to sweet or rich/creamy. The Blue Diamond Unsweetened Almond milk is perfect with the sweetness on cereal.

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 8 fl oz

Calories 40
Total Fat 3g
Saturated Fat  0g
Monounsaturated Fat  0g
Polyunsaturated Fat  0g
Trans Fat  0g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 180mg
Potassium 190mg
Total Carbohydrate 2g
Dietary Fiber  1g
Sugars  0g
Protein 1g

Vitamin 10%
Calcium 20%
Iron 2%
Vitamin D 25%
Vitamin E 50%
Magnesium 4%

LENTIL CHIPS:

YUM! Perfect with Tuna Salad.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 oz (28g/about 30 chips)

Calories 110

Total Fat grams 3

Dietary Fiber 3g

Sugars 1g

Protein 4g

ONE MORE THING...

KAME Rice Crackers: (no need for a 12 pack)

I've loved these forever and never realized they aren't so bad for you!

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 19 crackers

Calories 120

Total Fat 1g

Dietary Fiber 0g (no good but, not horrible)

Protein 3g

Day 8:

Yesterday I gave my self a break. 

Good? Bad? Not sure but I stayed on the healthy eating path. Didn't exercise though - unless, sitting for 12 hours counts???? 

Wendy and I celebrated our work deadlines with a walk and some Thai food. We split some boiled veggie dumplings for a treat and then onto dinner...Ginger Veggies for me with some brown rice. 

I'm learning that It's just about training yourself to remember you are important and you have to feed yourself the right stuff. Ginger Vegetables with Rice was delicious. I didn't miss the curry at all. 

It's just the ordering part, you know? Once you make the right choice...the eating part is easy. 

This day wasn't filled with as many healthy fruits and vegetables as I would have liked. I have to remember though that normally, a day like this would have been filled with junk...for the convenience factor. I forget to eat and then need to eat QUICK. That's not a good way to stay healthy. By that time I'm ravenous. Anyway, that excuse wont last forever. All in all, it was a good day! 

Day 9:

Cheers to another day of running. Both of us were not feeling it but I have this suspicion that this is just a hump we need to RUN over. The other side I think is going to be a lot more smooth...we're gonna keep on truckin and hope we can make it to the other side. 

Another Mark Bittman article that you may like. I basically already blew it because I had yogurt for breakfast but...there's always tomorrow!

Thank you again Wendy!

Vegan Before Dinnertime (this is from the NY times)

By TARA PARKER-POPE

Many people struggle to improve their eating habits. The Times food writer Mark Bittman, appearing this week on WNYC radio, told listeners about an unusual strategy that has worked for him.

All day long, he eats a vegan diet. But after about 6 p.m., anything goes.

In his newest book, “Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating With More Than 75 Recipes,” Mark explains how increasing fruit and vegetable consumption and reducing dependence on processed foods will lead to better health not only for your body, but also for the planet. He explained his “vegan before dinnertime” strategy recently on the Leonard Lopate show:

My arrangement with myself is that from the time I wake up until dinner I eat only fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes. I don’t even eat white bread during the day. And then starting at dinner, I do. I have one meal a day when I do pretty much what I want, which is normally quite indulgent.

Mark made the changes after developing high cholesterol, borderline high blood sugar, bad knees and sleep apnea, and realizing he was about 35 pounds overweight. A doctor suggested he adopt a vegan diet, which means no animal products. But for a food writer, Mark said, becoming a full-time vegan was both unrealistic and undesirable. Instead, he came up with a compromise:

I decided to do this sort of “vegan till 6” plan. I didn’t have huge thoughts or plans about it. I just thought it was worth a try. Within three or four months, I lost 35 pounds, my blood sugar was normal, cholesterol levels were again normal … and my sleep apnea indeed went away. All these good things happened, and it wasn’t as if I was suffering so I stayed with it…. I have not eliminated anything completely from my diet. I haven’t had a Coke in a while, but I didn’t drink that much Coke to begin with.

Mark says he’s not trying to promote a particular diet, but does want people to realize that a simple evaluation of your diet can lead to meaningful changes.

I want to make things as simple as possible. This is consistent with everything I’ve ever done. I’m the guy who says, “Don’t sweat it.” I’m trying to once again say, “Let’s figure out how to do this cleanly and easily.” I would just encourage everyone to examine the portion in their own diet between processed foods and animal food and junk food on the one hand and plants on the other. To the extent the first group is much heavier than the second group, I say make some adaptations to change that.