Women, Food & God
Saturday, June 12, 2010 2:27 pm
I’ve been a fan of Geneen Roth’s writing for some time – I love her humor and heart, and am glad that she’s continued the writing and teaching she has.
Check out Dr. Susan Corso’s review of Ms. Roth’s new book. Roth will be doing a workshop around her new book at Kripalu in September.
Getting started with healthy eating
Thursday, June 10, 2010 1:17 pm
It’s challenging to follow a healthy lifestyle in our anything-but-healthy culture. But for most of us, it’s worth the effort to be the most vibrant, healthy version of ourselves that we can. No matter who you are – how old, how physically or financially limited – you can improve your life by making healthier food choices and moving more, and connecting with others. Here are a few ideas for laying the groundwork for dietary change. These are ideas for gathering information and doing the mental preparation for success.
* Don’t believe the hype. The idea of a pill, potion or diet that will magically excuse you from the reality of how our human bodies work can feel irresistible. But like 1% mortgages and other investment schemes we’ve been learning so much about lately, if it seems to good to be true, it probably is. The FDA recently warned that some diet aids can actually do serious physical damage.
The only way for the average person to stay healthy over the long haul is to eat a healthy plant-based diet and be adequately physically active. The pill or diet might help with a jump start, but eventually we all live within our human physiology.
* Take a positive, additive approach. The fact that we live in human bodies is a very good thing. Weight loss or getting healthy is best experienced as an exercise in getting to know yourself and how your body works. The key is to find some joy – some fun, in learning how to care for yourself well. In my years of counseling people on lifestyle, I find it’s best to start by adding good things – like physical activity, and servings of fruits and vegetables. That way, the foods and activities that don’t serve you (like French fries, donuts and Law & Order marathons) tend to fall by the wayside with less sacrificial pain. There is a way to enjoy what you eat and follow a healthy diet.
* Know where your journey begins. There are a slew of good (and free) web based assessment tools to help you figure out what you’re eating right now. That’s really the first step in finding out where you want to go. Step on the scale, find your BMI, and see where you are on the sliding scale from underweight to obese. For most of these assessment numbers, see them then set them aside, and focus on the habits. It’s easy to get fixated on “I knew I struggled with weight but now I see I’m obese – I’m no good”. When those kind of thoughts pop up, see if you can turn it around to a positive, like “I knew things were getting out of hand, and now I know the situation and can do something about it – I can do this”. So long as you are focused on positive change and positive habits you life is likely to get better. Everyone has difficulty with something in their life. It’s how you work it in your mind that makes the difference between success and spinning your wheels.
Probiotics and Prebiotics: What are they?
Thursday, December 3, 2009 3:44 pm
My recent Examiner.com post. First in a series on probiotics and prebiotics.
Eating fish, avoiding mercury, environmental damage
Sunday, August 23, 2009 8:19 am
My lastest Examiner post on sustainable fish.
My beloved Rahu: Godspeed, crazy cat!
Saturday, July 11, 2009 5:42 pm
For those of you who read my lament of disconnection from the internet, I’m ON! Thank you Comcast.
As I write this, my beloved fur faced friend, Rahu: crazy cat, ferile feline, is likely dying under the porch out back. My heart is breaking, but I’m grateful to have had the chance to spend some years – 13 or 14 – with this wild, impetuous creature of habit, Rahu.
I adopted her and her sis, Ketu (named for the hidden stars of the Hindu sky – you never saw them) and, for little Hindu demons, which they were, from the rough streets of Central Square, Cambridge, MA. Ketu was a little more beautiful, lived hard, got nailed early and often, and died young – we think a raccoon got her back in ‘92.
Rahu has traveled far and wide; Hawaii, Scituate, Cohasset, Nantucket, and finally DC. But she loved Nantucket most: she had a path worn circling the house. That’s how she would spend her days, circling the house, round and round. And round and round.
Maybe she’ll rally but I don’t think so. Talking it over with Craig, he said, “animals have their own way of passing, and they don’t choose to do the die-in-your-arms drama that people do.” I think that’s right for Rahu, anyway. So, I’m not doing much this weekend but honoring this little being that’s been such a sweet little slice of wildness in my life for the last decade and a half. And letting her do it not in my arms, but in the dusty nest she’s made under the porch, like a self-respecting animal.
If this is your time, little one, Godspeed.
Nutrition Examiner’s offline tale of woe
Saturday, June 27, 2009 2:14 pm
Here’s my sad tale…
Back online and happy soon, let’s hope.
Annie
Everything’s new
Monday, May 25, 2009 4:48 pm
Some 
of you may know, but recently my life changed…a lot. In part because of all the financial craziness happening, I opened myself up to a new opportunity. And along it came.
Not long after I met my new colleagues, which spurred a move to a new area – a city (DC)! A new job and just a wicked major (as they say back N of Boston) life shift for me.
I work for a small but fast-growing nutritional supplement company that designs products for use under a physician’s care for medical indications. Theralogix. I’m diving into the science of nutrition (exploring the power of intelligent nutritional supplementation for medical indications). I work with a fun, smart team, and it’s all good.
The city is interesting – the museums are great (and free). I have a goal of meeting the Obamas, and hope the natives will help me out with that.
People here can be very wound up – I don’t think they even realize how wound up they are. And, they tend to work a lot. Monster hours are the norm here. I think it comes right from the top – you know how they were always in at 6a and out at 1a or 3a on West Wing?
Washington is an interesting place, and unique in a couple ways. The area is filled with government workers – military, NIH, congress, etc etc. These are folks who are dedicating their lives to building structures, hopefully that work. While there are free spirit/free thinkers here, everyone is conscious of structures and rules. People pay there taxes on time here. Extensions arn’t even a consideration.
This is so different from Nantucket and Hawaii, two places where offbeat, outlaw characters are the rule. Where those freak-flags are flyin’, and rules, even laws seem pretty open to interpretation. It’s sort of refreshing, people paying their taxes and reacting as you’d expect. It’s, well, normal.
Another aspect of DC that is interesting and unique to me is that it holds (centralizes? intensifies?) power. Political, social, financial now, but thus the structure – we need a strong container here for all the power. The monuments downtown are such masculine power centers. You just don’t see that many places!
So, I’m here, studying yoga with Suzy Hurley, thinking about supplements, and at the moment, missing my husband, who’s on Nantucket taking care of our place.
USA Book News Best Books Finalist
Ben Franklin Award Finalist
