Sunday, May 31, 2009

Deciphering Diets

I started reading Eat Right 4 Your Type yesterday... very interesting stuff.  I am trying to digest what the book is saying and fit it into my perspective on food/nutrition/diet.  It is challenging me.  Basically the book lays out dietary suggestions for 4 different blood types, Type O, A, B, AB; it describes why each type requires a different diet, type of exercise and lifestyle habits.  A lot of what it said about me correlated perfectly (with a few exceptions).  I have always been curious about different diets, the Mediterranean diet, Atkins, the Schwartzbein principle, the Zone diet... and my opinion is that each diet has its merit BUT like everything else, it needs to be applied in a way that makes sense for each individual person.
I think I can safely say that we all get confused, what helps us lose weight more, low carb, low fat, calorie restriction, exercise alone??!  All of these questions are important to ask, but equally important is figuring out what works for you and understanding how your body reacts to changes in your diet and lifestyle.  That being said, I think it is not something we can figure out once and go with for the rest of our lives, our bodies and life circumstances are always changing and so too are our dietary and life-style needs.  
I will give you an example from my personal experience.  When I hit 18 I started having a tremendous amount of trouble with my endocrine system (hormones and blood sugar), I started gaining weight despite reducing the amount of calories I ate and exercising like a crazy person!  After talking to Dr. Williams in Santa Barbara (at the Life Balance Centre), I understood that I was overtaxing my adrenals... basically putting additional stress on my body by excessive exercise and fewer calories at a time when my hormones were already wacky!  I worked with him to get to the root of the problem and fix it from there.  For about 2 years I only did moderate exercise, yoga, pilates, walking, etc. and ate a low-carb, nutritionally balanced diet (eliminating gluten, soy and dairy because apparently I am allergic!).  It took a while, and a tremendous amount of dedication, but my body adjusted.  My hormones are still slightly touch and go but definitely on the right track, and I am able to exercise a little differently.  We are always evolving and changing so I guess I have worked out my own question... what plan should we stick to?
Your own!
That being said, I always find it valuable to gather as much information and data as I can, always reading and trying to keep up with new findings.  That way I can continue to learn and make the right decisions for me.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Sunshine motivation...


Today is the first sunny day in probably three weeks... but it feels more like months!  Maybe its the sun, but I am feeling very energetic today.  I am considering filming recipes that are going to be newly added to NourishThis.com each month.  Maybe I should aim for half and not be too over zealous for now. (The photo above is from filming my demo with Concentric.)
Anyway, I want to film with other people... I think it will be more fun to watch me cooking in the kitchen if I am working with or teaching someone else.  Anyway, I am going to give it a whirl and see how it works out.  I am going to be using iMovie, which frustrates me a bit but is definitely better than nothing.  
Speaking of new recipes, I made a great one the other night and completely forgot to take a picture of it!  I was literally eating my last bite when it clicked- hey, this is really good, maybe I should have photographed it!  I will write up the recipe and try to have it for next month, but I made fresh herb crusted salmon topped with sauteed onion, garlic and tahini.  Definitely super easy to make, but it was just different enough that it made everyone go- wow, this is good!  Which clearly is always the reaction I am going for :)

Matchaaaaaa!


I go through phases of drinking Matcha tea religiously every day and then not at all... I am in the every day phase right now and I just had my last scoop!!! I guess its off to teavana for me. They are the closest Matcha retailers in my area and they are 20 minutes away. I need to be better at planning ahead!
Oh, if your not too sure what Matcha is, it is a powdered form of green tea. Matcha is a traditional ceremonial tea in japan made from ground green tea leaves. The health benefits of drinking green tea this way are tremendous because you are ingesting all the nutrients the tea leaves have to offer, not just what is steeped into the water through a tea bag. For example one serving of Matcha has about 70x the amount of vitamin C than a single orange. Although Matcha is caffeinated, it contains elements that counteract the energizing affects of caffeine and help to calm the body. Oh, and my favorite statistic is that when consuming matcha regularly, it increases your metabolism by 35-40%! Sweet!
Anyway, if your not convinced that you should hitch a ride to teavana with me just yet, all you need is one tempting sip and you will be as much of an addict as I am... and thats one addiction that does not require a support group!