Iterations from Health Month

April 9th, 2011

I’m playing a never-ending “game” called Health Month, created by Buster Benson. It’s a creative way to encourage people to make healthier choices in a fun, and competitive social-networking-type online platform. I keep a separate blog about my experience. Here’s a partial quote from my latest entry:

$5 Well Spent?

If you’re already playing Health Month then you probably know Buster Benson (the site’s founder, creator and sole-developer) doesn’t allow more than three rules unless you’re a paid player. I spent the first quarter of this year (January – March) playing three rules a month, for free. In March I played disastrously, spending two days out of the month catching up ten missed days each! I decided to renew my commitment, pick myself up and play better this month; unfortunately that hasn’t happened as I would have liked.

Click here to read the post in it’s entirety.

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Reversion, Defaults and Organization

April 9th, 2011

If you’ve been here before you know my blog theme has changed dramatically, and repeatedly. I really want to design and build my own, but I haven’t given it enough time or effort. In the meantime, I think I’ll just keep it like this.

As has been the case with many other areas of my life, I tend to change and change, and change some more before going back to the default. I recently read a book that talked about how important it is to establish a default that works for most people. The book is called Nudge and was written by two economics professors, Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein. It’s an excellent read and I highly recommend it for anyone interested in delving deeper into the human psyche. It made me feel stupid as I begun to realize how easily influenced I am by defaults, advertising and the media.

I’ve done an about-face type reversion in the past with other blogs. I have also done this repeatedly with operating systems, desktop backgrounds and layouts, my iPhone (before that my Blackberry Curve 8900) and other devices. As I’m writing this I wish I had a default I could revert to in my personal life. For instance, I wish my house was by default, very clean. If I got tired of how it looked, I could simply push a button and it would default back to being immaculate and spotless. Unfortunately that’s not how life works. :(

Every weekend I am reminded of the challenges of maintaining “stuff”. I work Monday through Friday, like clockwork, and know I won’t have to work on the weekends. I’m always thinking and wondering about what to do with the time I have outside of the office. We don’t live in a pigsty, but our house gets used and worn out like any other. This weekend I took the trash to the dump, cleaned our rats cage, relined the trashcans with bags, unloaded and re-loaded the dishwasher, and kind of helped my wife start the laundry. It’s a never-ending battle, at least in this life, between clean and dirty – organized and, well…not. One day I will master the art of organization and time management such that every moment of every day will be productive, proactive and I will no longer be a slave to my emotions and carnal desires for instant gratification, ala. avoiding doing what needs to be done for the things I want. One day.

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Oatmeal Diet, Day 2 (of 7) and DONE

April 5th, 2011

(This post is a few days late, but I wanted to get it out here regardless.)

I started Day 2 (of 7) with renewed vigor. I woke up late and missed my first serving which was supposed to be, as scheduled, at 5:30am. I didn’t get in the first 300 calories until 9:20am. This time I tried honey, but not just any honey. Last year we bought clover honey at the Roanoke Farmer’s Market. It was still good, although mostly crystallized. I added approximately 2tbsp along with 1tbsp (measured) of butter and a few cranks on the old salt grinder. Mmmm. I think I could actually get used to this.

My wife and meandered, poke, piddled, and otherwise wasted most of the morning. I didn’t get in my second 300 calories until after 12:00pm. It was just as good, if not better than the first. I prepared this round of oatmeal in the same way and enjoyed every last bite. (I didn’t think this was possible after my first few experiences.)

Later that day we went to my parents house. While there my mother told us all about ‘sour dough starter‘ and her new kitchen / food projects. I was impressed with her diligence in getting educated and practicing new methods and recipes. At the same time I told her about my oatmeal diet about which she read (briefly and in passing) on Facebook. She seemed to think that there was some real science behind it and asked where I had heard about it. I told her I’m doing it just because and there’s no scientific basis for my odd choice of diet food. It was then that she explained phytic acid.

I’ll post a few links to the technical definition(s) of phytic acid and what it does, or doesn’t do for you. As I understand it, phytic acid exists in most grains and in rather high amounts (or concentration) in oatmeal in particular. It inhibits the absorption of most of the nutrients and minerals contained in the grains we eat and therefore limits their nutritional value. For this reason, my mother suggested I quit the stupid diet and eat real food – in this case, sourdough cinnamon rolls fresh out of the oven. Mmmm.

There are ways around the phytic acid element in grains. Most of the research I’ve done recommends a 7 to 24 hour soak in some type of culture like yogurt, buttermilk, water with whey or vinegar. There are, as always, different opinions on the level of phytic acid and the real benefit obtained from soaking. I think it’s especially worth doing, regardless of the risk (or lack thereof) if you’re eating nothing but oatmeal. It couldn’t hurt and should only improve any existing nutritional yield from oatmeal and/or other grains.

I may give this one last go after carefully planning in what and how to soak my oats. I’ll let you know what I decide. In the meantime, here are a few articles for your reading pleasure:

 

And finally, the oft quoted and seeming experts on all of this rigamarole, Sally Fallon and Mary G Enig, PhD book Nourishing Traditions:

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Day 1 (of 7)

April 1st, 2011

It’s 9:05pm and I’ve had nothing to eat today except for oatmeal. While my stomach was hoping for a couple hundred more calories, and my tongue would have liked some other flavors, I did okay. I’m beginning to realize what an exercise in self-discipline this is going to be! Here’s a quick recap on how my individual servings played out, and a review of whether or not I followed my own rules:

I woke up, as scheduled at 5:30am and prepared Serving One. This time, instead of stove-top cooking all five servings the night before I decided (per my wife’s instructions) to microwave each serving as it came due. According to my rules I’m allowed one flavor, although I bent that to include both salt and something else as you’ll see below. The other four servings were prepared in the same way as their time came, and each included at least 1/8 tsp of salt.

5:30am, Serving 1:oatmeal, salt, butter; 300 calories (not including butter).

9:00am, Serving 2: oatmeal, salt, 2tbsp (2 servings) strawberry jelly; 380 calories.

12:30pm, Serving 3: oatmeal, salt, 1tbsp (1/2 serving) peanut butter; 400 calories. (Whoa! Not a good idea. The peanut butter essentially disappeared into the oatmeal with the exception of the small pieces…it was chunky. I had a hard time getting all this down, but I made it!)

4:00pm, Serving 4: oatmeal, salt, 2tbsp (2 servings) blueberry jelly; 380 calories.

7:30pm, Serving 5: oatmeal, salt, butter and 2tbsp (2 servings) strawberry jelly; 380+ calories. (I had less than 1tbsp of butter, so it couldn’t have counted for too many calories, right?)

All-in-all, not bad, nearly 2,000 calories in total. I bent Rule 4 by having my Gatorade after Serving 5 instead of just after the gym. I also broke Rules 3 & 4 by drinking Diet Mountain Dew (although I had 8 ounces +/-). I’m coming off of Mountain Dew and anticipated a killer headache today. I felt a little uneasy towards the end of the day, and had a minor headache, but I attribute that primarily to “the Fridays”. I drank this particular serving to stave off an impending headache, but it never got out of hand. Whew!

Tomorrow I’m at it again, Day 2 of 7. I plan to add a little more butter as this project gets underway. It helps with the taste and consistency. As it is, the oatmeal is somewhat thick and sticky which makes it a little hard to swallow. I’m a little hungry, but that’s to be expected. For days 2 through 7 I’ll add my weight and more details on the type of exercise I’m doing, and why not? – I’ll tell you when I go to and how much sleep I’m getting. Psst. I normally go to bed between 10 and 11:00pm. ;)

Thanks for reading. Comment as you’d like. I’ll see you tomorrow.

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Oatmeal Diet, Take 2

March 31st, 2011

Ummm, my first attempt at the Oatmeal Diet was an absolute bust. It started out as planned, but quickly turned nauseating, literally. The night before, I prepared five 300 calorie servings and placed them in separate containers. I woke up at 5:30am and ate my first serving. Bland. Very, bland. I managed to get it down and left home for the gym.

At 8:55am my iPhone alarm reminded me it was time to re-heat my second serving. I was in a meeting at the time and brought the oatmeal with me. As I slowly picked and poked away at my bowl of mush I started to feel a little uneasy. The lack of flavor and the denseness of the oatmeal left me feeling like I could throw up. I had to stop eating and wait for a few minutes before another bite. I threw in the towel with about three bites left and let the other servings rot on my counter.

I called my wife and confessed that I wouldn’t be able to get through a week of eating flavorless mash. She advised me, again (as she had before I started) to add something else to jazz up the taste, and with that advice I’m going to try this again. I’m modifying my rules to allow for flavor beyond pure, plain oatmeal. Ewww. :)

Rule 1: Eat oatmeal with one added flavor.
Rule 2. Available flavors: peanut butter, strawberry / blueberry jelly, salt, butter, honey.
Rule 3. Drink only water, with one exception.
Rule 4. Exception to water: Gatorade (1 daily after workout).
Rule 5. Consume exactly 1,500 calories daily from oatmeal. (I’ve decided against calculating the number of calories from flavoring.) *Side note – I then changed my mind and added them too, where available. 04/01/2011, 9:23pm*
Rule 6. Eat at specific intervals: Serving 1, 5:30am; Serving 2, 9:00am; Serving 3, 12:30pm; Serving 4, 4:00pm; Serving 5, 7:30pm
Rule 7: Don’t stop before it’s over.

I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I didn’t make it all the way through my second serving, but I’m confident this time will be different. (Don’t people always say that before they undertake (usually for the second time) some unreasonable challenge? ;)) I feel like I have a better plan, but as before I don’t have a particularly good reason for doing this. I just want to. If all goes as planned I’ll be writing about my progress here. Please comment as you’d like and ask any questions about my sanity if you’re wondering whether or not I’m crazy.

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