When I drive to and from work, I usually use that time to reflect on things. Yesterday, I was thinking about my hearing aid and family doctors - and realizing that even though they have degrees in their fields, it doesn't mean they are the best or know the most. It's kind of scary to have those thoughts, because everyone wants to believe that their doctor is "the expert", but I think of it in a more practical way. I interact with people on a daily basis who have college degrees in their fields and I see firsthand how that piece of paper doesn't always mean what it should.
It's good to see that people like Glenn Hagele, founder and Executive Director of the Council for Refractive Surgery Quality Assurance (USAEyes.org), are taking a stance on this issue, too. Glenn is coming at it from a less broad angle, as he is primarily concerned with patient advocacy in the surgery arena, in particular the Lasik surgery. USAEyes.org strives to ensure that all Lasik surgeons are evaluated and certified based on patient outcomes. Glenn is getting some press, in part because of his powerful stance on the issue. He states in the article that "No amount of technology can make up for an inferior surgeon."
I believe this to be true. My hearing aid doctor has all of the computers with bells and whistles you can think of at his disposal, but if he doesn't know how to utilize that technology, it does me no good. It's nice to see this kind of press that encourages consumers to be realists and not go into an eye surgeons office with blinders on, no pun intended.
I've been physically ill for about a week and a half now. Actually, today is the first day that I'm feeling better. I feel like a whole new woman almost. Yesterday, though, I was really feeling tired and worn down. My mind started questioning if it was purely physical. It's funny how I can go from, "I am sick, so it makes sense that I'm worn down," to "OMG, what if I'm depressed and need to go on medication and what if that doesn't work and I end up having to be committed or something!" Yeah, just a little crazy.
So today I feel better and I'm no longer worried about being clinically depressed or committed or anything like that. What a difference a day makes!
In my quest for new foods to give my diet a little pizazz, I came across this Cooking Forum that actually has foods I can eat on it. Normally any cooking or recipe sites I come across that have "regular" foods, do not also contain foods that are on my food plan. This site is different because there's an entire section devoted to Special Diets and Healthy Eating. When I logged on, the latest post was about mashed cauliflower. I don't think I have posted about this delectable treat on here before. I had mashed cauliflower for the first time at my brother's house a few weeks back and I really enjoyed it. It's so nice to see that eating right is celebrated on a cooking forum. Even better, the forums are free to join and there's an active community of over 350 people - that's encouraging. I hope to see the Special Diets and Healthy Eating board grow more active as time goes on. Guess that means I need to sign up and start posting!
I recently discovered Greek yogurt and boy, did I fall in love. The first batch I got from Trader Joe's and it was fine - the calories and fat content were in line with my regular yogurt. The smooth creaminess of the Greek style yogurt really makes it stand out from traditional yogurts. I got my next batch from the health food aisle of my local grocery store and didn't take the time to read the nutrition panel - I just checked the ingredients to make sure there were no offending items there.
After eating this yogurt two times, I realized something was wrong; I was feeling entirely too full and my stomach hurt a bit. It was just too rich. That's when I decided to take a look at the nutrition panel.
Oh.my.word. This yogurt had 23 grams of fat per serving! Woops! No wonder I was feeling sick! So, no more of that nonsense. Back to the Trader Joe's brand it is for me.
The only thing about the Greek yogurt is that it's about twice as expensive as regular yogurt. What I've been doing is cutting it, by doing a mixture of the Greek and the regular. That seems to work well because it boosts the creaminess of my regular yogurt, but doesn't hurt my pocketbook quite as much.
I've been sick since Saturday - I left the retreat I was on briefly, but returned. I haven't posted this week because I've just been really out of it. I wanted to share with you some of the writing I did on my retreat. I led a writing workshop on Body Image. The following was written there.
Dear Body,
I love you and like you exactly as you are today. You are a vessel that gets me through my days and nights. You carry my soul. I love your smooth skin and your long limbs. I love your hair and your eyes. I love that you've adapted to suit all of my addictions. When I ate too much, you stretched your skin for me, even though it left nasty marks. When I got abstinent, you shed the excess weight as best as you could. I love that you've carried me around for 37 years without much complaint. I'm sorry for the abuse I put you through, both physical and mental. I'm sorry for not listening to your cues in so many areas like hearing you say, "I'm full," or "We should rest," and completely ignoring you. Thank you for not failing me even though by all rights, you probably should have. Dear Body, please forgive me.
We only had about 15 minutes to write and this was the second part of what I wrote, so it's somewhat incomplete. I'll have to finish it one day.
We're weather freaks in this house. Growing up, both of us watched our share of the Weather Channel and we still like to watch the coverage on there to this day. We've both got weather widgets on our computer, too, so when we want to know what's coming up, we usually log on to the Internet to find out.
Brookstone has developed a wireless weather forecaster that might get us to change our habits, though. This thing is so freaking cool. It's magnetized, so it can go right on the fridge for all to see at their convenience. I would love to have this, since I'm in my fridge at least 5 times a day - and the kitchen is just a hotbed of activity in this house, as it is in most, I'm sure.
It's too bad that my mom's birthday just passed, though, because I think she would enjoy it even more than we would. She is constantly giving me updates on the weather. In fact, we'll joke about her instant messages that say nothing more than, "22 here. Snow coming." No, "Hi, Good Morning, How are you?" - nothing! Just the weather. Cracks us up! Between her and my dad being a gadget freak, this would be the perfect present for both of them. I did say I wanted to get my shopping done early this year, though...
My body has been telling me all week that I'm not getting enough sleep. And I have been ignoring it - relentlessly. I am so tired during the day and then get invigorated around 10pm every night. Well, invigorated might be a strong word. But, I get less sleepy around that time and end up staying up too late once again. It's a vicious cycle. I am really glad tomorrow is Friday and I'm going away on retreat because I know I'll have a chance to rest and catch up on my sleep.
Beyond this weekend, though, I need to address this. I need to get to bed earlier. I can't run myself down like this - it's not physically or mentally healthy. I've been noticing I haven't been taken my inner commitments as seriously as I used to. I give myself leeway and permission to not do my step work or have quiet prayer and meditation time - in essence I make excuses, really.
I love that I'm noticing all these "great" things right before I go away - at least I know I won't have a lack of things to work on while I'm there.
Do you celebrate Valentine's Day? If so, how was it? Did you get what you wished for from your loved one? I was reading BELISI on Valentine's, who posed the question - Was your Valentine's Day Fab or a Flop? For all the guys who read his post the day before Valentine's, hopefully your answer is a big fat, "Fab!" because he gave some really good pointers and ideas for gifts.
All of those gifts sound great to me, from new PJs to a spa package to perfume and jewelry. Since my birthday is the day before Valentine's, I usually get combination gifts. This year I received a spa package and a gift certificate to get new PJs, so my man did pretty good and my Valentine's was a resounding fabulo-so!
My leftover lunch is sitting here stinking up my office, and it reminded me to come post my food for the day. For the record, I had leftovers because I packed too many Brussels sprouts in my container this morning in my haste to get out the door.
I've got my home group (for my eating disorders group) meeting tonight and we're having a business meeting afterwards. I'm not looking forward to that simply because I will want to be at home on the couch, snuggled under a blanket in my PJs, watching TV. Winter time sure does bring out the hermit in me. I don't think I'm alone in that, though.
So, here's my food for today. I decided I'm going to just post recipe titles for the things I've already posted ingredients for. It's just easier for me. If you're curious what is in something I have listed, just leave a comment and I'd be happy to write the ingredients for you.
B: Peach tofu shake
L: 4 oz ground turkey, 1 C brown rice, 1 C peppers & onions, 1 C Brussels sprouts, 1 t oil
D: 8 oz baked tofu, 8 oz oven baked potato slices, 2 C raw veggies, 2 t oil
S: 6 oz apple, 1/2 C cottage cheese - baked with cinnamon on top
All of the cold weather here in the northeast can really do a number on the mood and affects people with depression and SAD, too. While I pine away for spring, I think about people who live in Texas and think how lucky they are right now. And not only because of the weather. While the real estate market is plunging in most areas of the country, it is actually taking off in Austin. There's got to be a reason for that - and it's got to affect the dispositions and mental makeup of the people who live there.
If you're looking for real estate in Austin, that site is from a local realtor there who provides a large database of listings for you, once you provide your name and email address.
I tell ya - moving to Austin right about now sounds pretty darn good.
