Be healthier and in better shape

That’s the way to loose weight.

Since I moved out of my mom’s house, about 6 years ago, I’ve been eating healthier and healthier (although grains and nuts and seeds have always been a part of our lives – my mom used to make us Budwig Creme – but I hated it).

Growing up, we were always eating pretty healthy. My mom cooked everything, or almost. We used to raise our own chickens. But we did buy junk food (I’d always go crazy on it), go to MacDonald’s (I used to LOVE MacDonald’s, but I’ve set foot in one of these only once or maybe twice in about 6 years – and I don’t miss it!) or order a pizza with fries. I got really fat (about 190 lbs) during high school, but it didn’t bother me. Back in 2002, after college, I was close to 170 – not sure what I did to lose the 20 lbs though. My mom would still cook everything (and me sometimes) but she’d buy snacks for our lunches and junk food and I’d always pig out. I loved (still love) junk food! But after moving out, I’d have to pay for my own junk food.. hmm, I guess that slowed me down a bit: save money and no see, no eat. I had to learn to grocery shop myself and I was actually surprised how easy for me it was not to buy junk food. I still buy some junk food (like potato chips and popcorn), but not that much.

For a few years now I’ve been eating macrobiotic foods here and there (seaweeds, bancha tea, daikon, miso soup, different leafy greens: dandelion greens, watercress, okra, boy choy, collard greens, kale, etc) and more grains.

It’s been a while (maybe like a year) that I’ve eaten those but I’ve been reading The Hip Chicks Guide To Macrobiotics by Jessica Porter, which I’ve had for like more than a year and I really want to start a macrobiotic diet (mostly try it out at first and see out it goes), and I really want to start doing what I was doing before: making my own salads with different leafy green and other vegetables, making my own salad dressings, buying more organic foods, and making most of everything myself, not store-bought “excuse the expression” crap, but this time really follow the macrobiotic lifestyle (yin & yang). I also have The Macrobiotic Path to Total Health: A Complete Guide to Naturally Preventing and Relieving More Than 200 Chronic Conditions and Disorders by Michio Kushi and The Macrobiotic Approach to Cancer: Towards Preventing and Controlling Cancer With Diet and Lifestyle (which is where I got most of the fruits, vegetables, seaweed, etc. I used to eat and want to eat again – but I didn’t really read the book yet, just the food part – I’ll read it soon.

Also, I just subscribed to the Jillian Michael’s online program (the trainer from the Biggest Loser). I’m doing my exercises everyday, and logging my workouts, doing weigh-ins, and she gives you an everyday meal plan (but I can’t really follow it since I’m a vegetarian and am going for a macrobiotic lifestyle – to the very least, it gives ideas). I’m also doing Tai Chi (I use the tapes AM Chi & PM Chi) and started doing yoga with Basic Yoga Workourt for Dummies. As soon as I can, I’m getting the DVD Meditation for Beginners with Maritza.

You have to think about you mental health too.

I am marking this as done when it really isn’t. I think it will be easier to mark my progress on losing weight, exercising more, and cooking healthier meals under their independent goals rather than under this one.

I realized just how out of shape and how poorly I’ve eaten lately while I was on vacation. I have decided that I really, really must start doing a better job of taking care of myself. I am planning healthier meals for my family this week, and I intend to get back to my daily walks in the morning with my son. I think that is not only good for me physically, I think that is good for our moods as well!

That I am eating now as a result of making them for my son seem to be improving my skin! Bonus for me!

I normally walk in the morning with my son. Now, my husband is joining us for a family walk in the evening. It is so nice!

I’m not quite walking every day, but I’d say at least 5 days a week. Also, when I can’t walk as long in the morning, I’ve been going for a walk with my husband and son in the evening; that is really nice.

I don’t think I can stick to only one way of life. Like be only vegan or only try macrobiotics.

I wanna be most of all (most of the time) raw vegan or rawfoodist.

But once in a while, I’d like to have cheese. I miss it too much. It would have to be hormone-free and from a farm where the cows are well treated. Also not make a fuss if I’m eating at someone’s place and they have food that contain eggs or milk products.

And also try macrobioctics but mostly raw foods and the occasional vegetarian foods.

So I guess I’m raw vegan and vegetarian. Does that make sense?

I’ve walked with my son 5 days in a row now, for an hour each day. I am trying to eat less at each meal, and not to overdo it on bread. I don’t want to try to do too much at once.

Anybody who wants to be healthier in better shape, improve their physical and mental health, you might like these books. If you don’t like to read, try to look for audiobooks.

• Confession of a Kamikaze Cowboy by Dirk Benedict. It made me discover macrobiotics, macro (large, big or great), and bios (life) - worth reading
• The Great American Detox Diet: 8 Weeks to Weight Loss and Well-Being by Alex Jamieson - worth reading
• Food is Your Best Medicine by Henry G. Bieler - currently reading
• Hip Chick’s Guide to Macrobiotics by Jessica Porter - currently reading

PLANNING TO READ

• Michio Kushi: Has a lot of books. Check them out and also check his websites: http://www.michiokushi.org/ and http://www.kushiinstitute.org/
• Aveline Kushi: Michio’s wife. Has a few books of her own.
• William Dufty: Sugar Blues
• Adelle Davis: Let’s Get Well, Let’s Cook It Right, Let’s Have Healthy Children, Let’s Eat Right to Keep Fit, and more.
• George Ohsawa: Macrobiotics: An Invitation to Health and Happiness, You Are All Sanpaku, The Book of Judgment, Macrobiotics: The Way Healing and so much more.
• Wendy Esko: Eat Your Veggies: Glorious Greens, Super Squashes, and a Harvest of Vegetable Delights, Soup Du Jour: Healthy Homemade Soups for All Seasons, Rice is Nice, Introducing Macrobiotic Cooking, and more.
• Lisa Turner: Meals That Heal: A Nutraceutical Approach to Diet and Health, Mostly Macro: A Guide to Healthy Cuisine for the Disriminating Palate and more.
• Steve Gagne: Energetics of Food.
• David Steinman: Diet for a Poisoned Planet and more.
• A. Glenn Braswell: Life Extenders and Memory Boosters: Life Extension Innovations for a Healthier Longer Life (read his name on a website, thought I’d add him).
• Michael, M.D. Loes: The Non-Drug European Secret to Healing Sports Injuries Naturally (also read his name on a website, so I added him).
• Linda McCartney: Linda’s Kitchen: Simple and Inspiring Recipes for Meatless Meals, Linda McCartney’s World of Vegetarian Cooking: Over 200 Meat-free Dishes from Around the World and more.
• Tanya Bernard & Sarah Kramer: How It All Vegan!: Irresistible Recipes for an Animal-Free Diet, The Garden of Vegan: How It All Vegan Again!
• Cheryl L. Perry: The Vegetarian Manifesto (great book, easy to read, lost of info on healthy eating, vegetarian and vegan cookbooks, etc.).
• The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook: This book full of colors and information and great recipes. http://allconsuming.net/item/view/1271213

If you don’t like these books, there are so many more books out there that you’ll like, you just have to look.

Pretty much the same except there’s some stuff added and some stuff taken out.

Cooked vegetables (I need a lot more Calcium from non-dairy foods and a lot more Iron since I’m vegan now):

1/2 cup broccoli (47 mg calcium 0.7 mg Iron)
1 cup cabbage (25 mg calcium)
1/2 cup spinach (2.0 mg Iron)
1/2 cup bok choy (78 mg calcium)
1 cup of kale (179 mg calcium)
1/2 cup of okra (88 mg calcium)

1 large carrot: Half cooked and half uncooked
4 large pieces of cauliflower: 2 cooked 2 uncooked
1/2 blueberries
1/4 cup cranberries
1/2 of other frozen fruits: Strawberries, peaches, kiwis, pineapples, etc.
1/4 of a cube of tofu (protein, calcium, 1.8 mg Iron)
1/2 of soy or rice milk (calcium if calcium fortified)
1/2 cup of Fibre-First (President’s Choice brand – or other brands such as All Bran)
Ground grains: 1 tbsp. of buckwheat, wheat, rye, amaranth, millet, hulled barley, and sesame seeds (80 mg calcium), and 2 tbsp. of flaxseeds, oats, quinoa and sunflower seeds (1.4 mg Iron)

I can always play around and add other different foods. My fiancée likes to peel his cucumbers so I ask him to keep the peels and I put them in my mix. Same thing for potato peels.