The Micro-Awareness Upside of Tracking Food: What Ae You Lacking? What are you overdoing?

After tracking my food intake for a couple weeks, I noticed something interesting--and slightly distressing: I am consistently ranking way, way low on zinc, and often ranking low on folate. I almost never make the recommended minimum for potassium, and I wouldn't make magnesium without my regular supplementation (and from what I've read, few Americans do make it to minimums on these two nutrients). Also, I just about always go over the recommended maximum for salt\--no surprise-- and often go over for cholesterol, easy if I have two eggs in the AM. I sometimes don't make the minimum for calcium (now that I've drastically reduced pizza, takeout Italian, and cheese enchiladas!) without a pill.

I have started using my nutritional report to see what supplements to add to dinner or my evening snack. I was already long accustomed to taking calcium and magnesium and vitamin D--I am after all female and don't want osteoporosis. I'm asthmatic and pre-diabetic, so I've taken magnesium supplements for about 10 years for those particular conditions.

Since Sparking my nutrition, I've consciously been trying to add even MORE potassium to my diet via foods, but even on really conscientious days, even with 11 or more fruits and veggies, I don't make the 4500 mark (though I can get real close). So, I'm gonna start tweaking. I have high BP, so this is important. And I need to wean myself of my sodium addiction (that is gonna be tough.)

So, supplements take care of adding calcium, magnesium, Vit D, and, as needed, when I fall short of B12 or some other B (I have stress B complex that I use on hard exercise days).

So, what about zinc and folate?

Foods highest in zinc and my issues:

Shellfish and oysters--can't eat them. I have terrible seafood allergies. I end up in the E.R.

Pine nuts--hate them in anything except pesto sauce (which can only be eaten in moderation, as it's pretty calorie-rich)

Brewer's Yeast--Hey, I used to take that as a kid (my sister was into it in the seventies). A possibility, as long as I am not sensitive to it these days. (I am hyperallergy-prone.)

Wheat Germ--excuse me, ugh. Have tried many times to eat this. Ick.

Wheat Bran--well, I do eat whole grain bread, just not as much as my "eat what I want" periods. Weight loss = less food= fewer nutrients. Geesh.

All Bran Cereal= I'd rather take a pill. Another Ew.

Pecans--Like em in salads, but again, oodles of calories.

OK sources and issues:

Liver--you have got to be kidding? My mom used to force me to eat this in my kidling years, and I would gag unless there was a layer about an inch and a half thick of onions on top to mask the nasty texture/taste. I'd rather take a pill than eat even one forkful of liver.

Cashew Nuts: Love them! But again, high calorie price.

Parmesan cheese: Adore it. Use it regularly. But it's not a huge huge source, unless, I guess, I gobble a wedge.

Fish: Um, I really hate going to the ER.

Eggs: Eat em almost every day, gotta watch the cholesterol a bit. Not a great source, unless I eat like 10 eggs.

OK. I understand now why I keep getting low on this one.

Onto folate...

Foods richest in folate and my issues:

Brewer's Yeast: OK, I'm really gonna have to research and try this again (as long as there isn't a connection with Candida or anything else for my immune system). Two birds with one brewer's spoon.

Lentils: Oh, I like lentils. I didn't like Dr. McDougall's version, but I could try to find a great recipe and freeze batches or use them in salads or as an appetizer on bread. Yeah, maybe this could work.

Edamame: I have to limit soy products (I love tofu and soymilk, but the thyroid does not.)

Romaine: Eat it frequently.

Pinto Beans: Like.

Okra: Like a lot sauteed with tomatoes and onions.

Black Beans: I am Cuban-born. Need I say more? We'd kill for our black beans.

~More good sources--spinach, kidney beans, asparagus, broccoli, fresh o.j., papaya, whole wheat bread, etc.

All right, folate is doable. Lots of my fave foods on earth and lots of foods I eat regularly are on here. Have no idea why I'm lagging here. Maybe I need to see if the foods list at Spark is not listing folate properly. I eat some of those foods many times a week.

Still, the point is that this is making me more aware of choices. So much so, that I like to leave a 100 to 200 calories for an after-dinner snack to make up "voids" in my day's nutrition.

I also know that there are supplements I can take, but I'd rather get it from food. Since my 20's, when I first started learning about nutrition (at college, in a class on it, and later on in my own readings to try and improve my chronic conditions), I always believed the food itself, the way God created it, supplied more than science even knew, so it was the better way. Supplements were merely aids, to fill up gaps that imperfect choices make. Not something to utterly rely on to make up for crap eating all the time.

I still believe this. I think back on how much we know now compared to the sixties and seventies about what's in stuff--tea, coffee, fruits, veggies, chocolate, etc. How color is indicative of benefits. And we'll learn more.

Even if you aren't feeling the mojo to reduce calories or diet right now, I recommend you do some nutrition tracking with a free online tool to find out where there are nutritional holes in your diet. You don't want to find out LATER, when your bones are Swiss cheese, that you failed to get enough calcium and Vitamin D and magnesium. You don't want to up your risk of HBP cause you eat too much salt and not enough potassium. You don't want to risk stroke or x or y condition cause you failed to ingest vitamin this or mineral that.

Do a tracker for a couple weeks. It might be a revelation.

So, let's see, gotta make up a new shopping list. :)

But, it does make me stop and consider. So, I did a web search to remind myself what foods are rich in these.

Royal Fatfighting Tournament Tools: #4 The Pause that Empowers

After several good eating days, I had a setback at dinner Monday. I ate decently at breakfast. I ate well at lunch. I went to town at dinner. It was a slowly progressive binge.

So, I started reading A Cyberguide To Stop Overeating and Recover from Eating Disorders by Joanna Poppink, M.F.C.C.

As we all know by now, the only way to successfully lose weight and maintain the loss is to implement strategies from the start that bring new protections and better habits into our lives. Learning these strategies is easy for some, harder for others, but we all have to learn to eat differently and how to behave when we are tempted to return to old habits of overeating or bad eating.

In my case, even though I know I should at minimum STOP and CONSIDER what I am doing or am about to do, I didn't.

And I should have gotten the warning alarm the moment I woke up:

I slept badly. I felt tired from the moment I got up. So tired, so heavy in my bones, that I almost cancelled my Pilates session. I drooped. I ate and felt no pick-me-up from the coffee. I did breathing exercises. I talked positively to myself in the shower about having energy, being energetic, being UP.

It took all my strength to get through the Pilates session, and I couldn't do one of the exercises I had done in previous sessions (the side bend on the barrel). The oomph was gone by the time we got to it. I felt like crying. I was THIS near tears, because I felt like such a failure.

So...

1. I woke up tired from a bad night's sleep.
2. I felt massively disappointed by my exercise performance (despite my trainer's great reassurances that I did great and worked hard.)
3. I came home feeling even more drained.
4. Because I was tired, I burned hubby's dinner, which I let unduly upset me, and then I had to quickly think of an alternative.

I should have said, "Princess, you are having a bad day. What do you do when you have bad, tired, draining days. You eat. And then you eat some more. Time for a strategy, like a big bowl of a lite soup and extra water. Like a fiber drink to make your tummy feel expanded. Like a nap. Ask hubby for a massage. Something..."

I didn't stop and assess my feelings about my day. I just went with every impulse except one initial thought--I shot down the persistent urge to order a pizza. But after that, I went with the impulses, which were to lay on the couch between trips to the kitchen, where I had 2 huge bowls of arugula with tomato and Annie's Goddess dressing, a cup and a half of split pea soup, three ounces of asian pork tenderloin with a cup of fruity rice, a half cup of granola with non-fat milk, a single-serve organic cherry turnover-pie with coffee, and just barely manage to fight off a baked potato chips craving. That was the second time I fought off any eating cue.

Now, a year ago plus, I would have ordered that large pizza and garlic rolls and a Caesar salad, maybe some wings or fried zucchini. The very fact that I mostly had healthful stuff on hand is a testament to better food shopping choices. (That cherry pie, organic and single-serve--was in the freezer since February! I went and dug way in the back to find it.)

But it was still bad day, a setback, because I KNOW, I KNOW, I KNOW that I need to use the strategies, use the tools, and it starts with: SELAH. Pause and consider. Be aware. Self-examine. So I can choose better.

Had I taken 10 to 15 minutes to think and self-talk, I could have stopped after the first bowl of salad, the small piece of roasted pork tenderloin, and the fruited rice, and had a good night. It was the chain reaction, the thoughtless one that got me.

Hence, the tool of the pause for awareness. The tool of the awareness for a better selection of course(s) of action.

The Cyberguide I linked to above has exercises for overeaters (look at the links on that page and scroll to "Exercises to Avoid Overeating" in 10 parts).

I may have to create a chart for my fridge door. I had intended to print out a STOP AND THINK poster for it, and this is something for me to do TOMORROW!

I'm gonna have bad days--little sleep, low energy, depressive episodes. I need to get the tools ingrained to handle them.

Have you used the pause/self-examination to stop binges? Are they habits yet?

I'm working on it.

~~

Yeah, Baby! And a bit of a PSA...

Those raw lunches must be helping. Today, the scale said: 268.4

My lowest yet. I won't officially call my mini-goal of 269 met (and surpassed) unless I can stay in the 260's. I'm too familiar with ups and downs due to dehydration, hormonal changes, etc.

I better enjoy it before those salty food fluctuations sneak in. ; ) Especially since it's my birthday week coming up with dining out and feasting in the works. (My party is tomorrow, to facilitate family attendance, but it's not until next week. Still bummed I couldn't get a chocolate banana tiramisu raw cake.)

Just to clarify, btw, because of my previous couple posts: I'm not on a raw foods diet. I simply add raw foods now more consciously to my diet. I've always liked having something raw at every meal, just cause, but now I am doing it mindfully, in order to maximize eating "clean."

I still eat meat, eggs, and dairy. In fact, I am a bona fide cheese junkie. Me loves the stuff. I just eat organic cheese, eggs, and meats now. Although, I really don't like the grass-fed beef, so, I may try to find a "wellness" category beef (ie, humanely raised, no antibiotics or hormones, etc.) I do very much like the organic chicken and pork. Lovely. And I'd been buying (and paying more) for cage free, vegetarian diet, omega eggs for years. I simply now focus on ORGANIC fed ones, too.

I will say that the low-heat pasteurized, grass-fed, organic milk is very nice. It spoils faster (a week in the fridge, pretty much), but it has a very nice flavor, and, hey, happier cows. I'm a latte fiend, so I've been using this organic milk for those coffee treats.

I do notice my appetite is calmer (post period), which is the norm. Crazy hunger pre-period, nice and calm with no chocolate cravings after. I walk right by those truffles and organic choco-covered almonds without so much as a sigh. Give it two weeks and I'll be insane for 'em.

I hope y'all had a satisfying and healthful Valentine's Day. Impress on your loved ones to buy you non-food treats, when possible, on such occasions. Or, if chocolate is in the cards or stars, to buy fair-trade treats and flowers, and organic when possible. Better for communities globally and better for your body, er, locally. :)

I've long supported aid to third world communities via donations, but I figure it's time I buy more consciously, too. I shouldn't support slavery or abusive pricing just cause I want something to eat. I shouldn't support poor farming techniques that ruin the land just cause I want roses in my vases.

Just like I watch my water usage in and out of the house. (I pretty stopped watering my lawn when we got into a drought. I maybe add water once every 8 weeks if the grass is very yellow.) And just like I try to remember to switch off lights, etc. Every little bit helps overall.

It costs more to buy fair trade and organic, but it's easier on the conscience...and the world. And if your budget only allows partial "conscience" buying, then that's better than nothing. (If you eat berries, pears, an any other fruit or veggie where you consume the skin/husk/outer, focus on those. If you have kids, don't give them meats and milk with hormones. It's just really bad for growing bodies. It's not evolution that girls are getting their periods years and years sooner than their grandmas. It's hormones in food.)

PSA over. Let the lunch munching begin...healthfully!

~

Going Red For Women...and their Hearts

My hubby wore red to work today. Why? Cause he's married to a woman at high risk for heart disease (ie morbidly obese with Metabolic Syndrome). Today is Go Red For Women Day, and my man went red. And looks hot in it, too.

I haven't showered or dressed yet, but I have red lipstick and a red tee ready to go. And red shoes.

I love wearing red--on lips, on toes, in jewelry. RED ROCKS! And I recently bought the most comfortable loafers..and they come in red. Heh. Red cheers me up. (The image is of a tunic I bought last year that I wore for Christmas. And it's great for a Ren Faire.)

Why is awareness-raising necessary? Behold:

Statistics indicate women's risk of breast cancer is trivial compared to their risk of heart disease. Forty-three percent of deaths in American women are due to cardiovascular disease, leaving women six times more likely to die of a heart attack than breast cancer. And a 2003 study by the American Heart Association found only 13 percent of women felt heart disease was their biggest health threat.

If you plan to go shopping today--hurry, time's running out--wear red and you get 15% off at MACY'S. But before you head out, take the Go Red Heart Check-Up.

Here's some heart-healthy reading:



And for the very young woman-to-be in your family (or for the collector, or just for plain fun):



(She also comes in a blond version.)

And if you want to read an interesting book that is contrarian to the common guidelines, get a copy of this dense tome. I found it really intriguing, and if nothing else, it points to the need for a helluva lot more research on what is ultimately the best, heart-healthiest way of eating: