Healthy Eating, Soul Food, First Lady Michelle Obama, Jane Brody

Hi,

Based on my family's health history, I must be going to the doctor every other day to make sure all my vitals are okay and that I am not dying. Then again, the crazy person that I am, I don't although in 2008 I was forced to because, while in the garden trying to clear a thicket, I was infected with I don't know what and the pathetic condition of my skin (lots of centipede-like furrows all over my arms and legs) scared the hell out of me. The doctor thought it was poison ivy, which of course was treatable. But since I rarely go to a doctor I decided to have a few other tests run on me. A big mistake! My cholesterol was messed up. Both my LDL and HDL had headed in the wrong direction. When I returned home, I was miserable. It was if I had to pretty much stop eating. I got depressed and broke down. I had always watched my weight but lately I went just by my clothing size (6). It so happened that just then the clothiers had expanded the size. In other words, the label might say 6 but the actual size was much larger. This meant I had been overeating and the wrong kind of foods as well. Because it was August and thus the throes of summer I had really been indulging. For instance, for nearly two weeks just before I went to the doctor, I had been bingeing on cheese, eggs and ice cream. Yes, go figure as they say on Mars!

So now my LDL and HDL readings turned my whole life upside down. I had been exercising regularly but this also had made me a bit cocky about my eating habits. Pecan pies had begun to appear in my cabinet more often now. After my visit to the doctor's all this had to stop, of course. The first thing I was going to do was, increase the fiber content in my diet as per my research on the subject. This meant that my favorite cereal from Trader Joe's, the almond, cashew loaded granola had to be the first item to be replaced. Luckily I found a high fiber cereal which while could not hold a candle to my bowl of granola was still definitely the best substitute under the circumstances. Slowly I found a happy medium and also ran into the owner of a high impact gym in town as opposed to the low impact one I was going to till then.

Now, two years later, my clothes are loose on me (I even own a few size 4's; okay these may in reality be a real size 6), I have returned to my almond and cashew-loaded cereal 1/2 cup equals 160 calories; with milk another eighty calories), have a wedge of Toblerone (140 calories worth as opposed to two Hersey almond or caramel kisses from before worth a mere 50 calories; I plan to go back to the kisses) for dessert and of course, a couple of all natural cookies (no more than a total of a 150 calories) and six ounces of OJ before bed time so I can sleep through the night. My lunch is a vegetarian salmagundi sprinkled with dried cranberries and some walnuts followed a couple of sesame balls, a delectable dessert. A Nonni’s biscotti is a must with my afternoon coffee. In-between snacking includes a banana, orange and sometimes a yam and once in a while a few peanuts. Dinner is cooked cracked wheat and some grain-based or vegetable-based side dish topped with home made skim milk yogurt.

I know that some extremely health-conscious folks will not approve of the desserts in my diet but they are for my soul. If my soul is not happy, I'm not happy and I make the people around me also unhappy. Been there, done that and it was not pretty. I used to be obsessive and self-absorbed.

Healthy eating alone can go only so far. As long as I don't overindulge, I should continue to be healthy. Knock on wood. Moreover, what exactly is the point of hitting the gym six days a week at 6 a.m. and getting on the elliptical and the treadmill for half hour followed by another fifteen minutes of resistance exercises if I can't eat my favorite foods? This is my whole motivation behind my regular gymming. Even health experts like Jane Brody of the New York Times advise people not to let go of their indulgences. Apparently, she loves ice cream and she has it every day. I know that first Lady Michelle Obama will not approve of this, but much as I admire her, this is one area where I'm not going to listen to the First Lady:)

All right, enough on this subject for now.

Ciao!
Ro.