Category Archives: Diet

100 Days No Alcohol Challenge

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I mentioned in my last post My Dry August that since my month-long no alcohol challenge yielded so many benefits that I decided to do 100 days to see what else might happen.  I can tell you, it was mostly more of the same that  I already shared but with one big difference!

During those 100 Days last Fall, I decided to make my decades-long dream of becoming a yoga instructor a reality.  I knew I wanted to be a yoga teacher shortly after I began practicing back in 2000 but I wasn’t sure if I had what it takes.  The fact that I was 23 years older than when I started didn’t help either.  You may be wondering what being on a break from alcohol had to do with my decision to finally go for my dream.

It comes down to this-I believe that my nightly glass of wine was making it easier to NOT do things I knew I wanted to do.  There are a number of reasons why but I think the most important is that alcohol helps us stay comfortably in our comfort zone. Life can be really hard.  Taking on new challenges doesn’t make it any easier, at least not in the short term.

It’s so much simpler and more comfortable to veg out in front of the TV at the end of the day than it is to pursue something meaningful.  Alcohol, even one glass, helped me to set aside the nagging feeling that I could be doing something better and with purpose.  I think it makes it easy to choose to do nothing.

After being alcohol-free for a month, I was in a yoga class and thought to myself, “I could do this.  I want to do this! I am going to do this!” The very next day I signed up for a yoga teacher training program before I could talk myself out of it.  Obviously, not drinking alcohol wasn’t the only reason I finally went for it but it helped.  For one thing, I wouldn’t have been in the yoga class where I had the epiphany if I had wine with dinner that night.  I also felt better than I had in a long time.  I found the courage to follow through and I don’t believe I would have if I had been indulging in my nightly cup of comfort.

You may be wondering if I started drinking again after I completed the 100 Day Challenge.  I did during the holidays and I enjoyed it but not as much as I used to.  So, I decided to stop again on January 1st for six months to see what happened.  I have since completed my Yoga Teacher Training Program and will begin teaching my own weekly class next month.  I am also working on some other projects that I’m excited about.

Will I continue the challenge when the six months are up? I don’t know yet.  It might be interesting to continue until my birthday or even go the whole year and compare it to last year.  Stay tuned!

Frozen Fruit

Want to Look and Feel Better? Drink Fruit

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My skin has been aggressively dry this winter.  My hands were starting to look like they belonged to a 150 year-old alien creature.  They remained, dry, scaly and wrinkled no matter how much water I was drinking or how much cream I slathered on them.  My face wasn’t faring much better.

I wondered why I suddenly seemed to be aging so rapidly.  What was different?  I realized I wasn’t eating enough fruit.  I used to drink green smoothies most days.  I had tapered off because, quite frankly, I don’t like them very much.  Greens and fruit blended together tasted okay but I can’t say I enjoyed them.  I don’t particularly want to see that shade of green early  in the morning either.  I also found that they repeated on me for several hours after I drank them.  I much prefer to eat greens in salads.  I personally seem to digest them better that way.

I hadn’t realized that when I dropped the green smoothies, I stopped eating as much fruit.  This week, I began drinking fruit smoothies with my breakfast and the difference was immediate.  My hands became recognizable as my own again.  They were suddenly soft and supple. The skin on my face also smoothed out and plumped up again.  My whole body felt better inside and out. My mid-morning desire to snack even went away.

My experience isn’t just anecdotal.  Fruit is packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytonutrients.  These properties are vital to our overall health and well-being. Fruit is also usually high in fiber. The increased fiber from the fruit is probably the reason I have been fuller longer and was able to ditch my mid-morning snack.   Fiber, of course, also helps the body rid itself of waste and harmful invaders.

The base of my smoothie is always a banana and almond milk.  I add a cup of various frozen fruits to this starter: mango, pineapple, and berries. I thaw them out in the fridge overnight.  I don’t really like super cold drinks.  When the ice crystals hit the back of my throat, I start coughing.  I figure using softer fruit is less wear and tear on my blender too.

I know fruit smoothies get some flack for containing a lot of natural sugar.  However, since the fruit is still whole when I blend it, the fiber and nutrients are intact.  It isn’t as though I am getting all this sugar in a concentrated form like I would with just juice.  So,  I am not that worried about it.

How about you?  Have you been experiencing very dry skin this winter? A fruit smoothie might just  be the delicious solution that you seek now that Spring has sprung!

The Missing Link to Proper Portion Control

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I was watching a video by Jennifer L. Scott, aka The Daily Connoisseur, about portion control.  I have seen her food videos in the past and was under the impression that she ate like a bird.  This video seemed no different at first.  To make matters worse, she described how she rarely finished what seemed to be relatively small meals.

Then she said something that caught my attention.  She said, ” I don’t do this because I am depriving myself or because I am on a diet or anything.  I just try to be very present and mindful when I am eating. And so when I do that, I just find that I am full. When I am preoccupied.  Let’s say I am eating my dinner and I am also surfing the internet, I am not going to be aware when I am full.”

I was struck by this statement because I am always preoccupied when I am eating.  I often eat while I am on the internet or watching tv.  Have I been eating too much because I am not being mindful when I eat?  I had to test this out.  So, tonight after I cooked my dinner, I portioned half of it into a smaller than usual dinner plate and put the other half in a Pyrex storage container, reasoning I could get more if I needed it.

I sat down at the dining room table and ate in silence like an adult. No tv or Ipad or phone-nothing but me and my meal. I chewed slowly and thoroughly. I definitely tasted what I was eating more than usual. I noted the texture and various flavors. I also added some additional seasoning which I rarely do.  When I had finished, I asked myself if I felt full and satisfied. I decided that I was both full and satisfied. I put the other half in the fridge for tomorrow night.

After dinner, feeling comfortably satiated, not stuffed, I decided to take the dogs for a walk.  All three of us enjoyed this impromptu stroll immensely.  Had I eaten the entire amount of food that I had prepared in front of the tv, I really doubt it would have happened. I probably would have sat there staring at the tube, feeling uncomfortably full and barely remembering having eaten.

Portion Control + Mindfulness while eating = Game Changer!  Thank you Daily Connoisseur!  I am definitely going to use this approach from now on.

Here is the video: