Thankful for What Keeps Me Healthy

"Make it a habit to tell people thank you.
To express your appreciation,
sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return.
Truly appreciate those around you,
and you'll soon find many others around you.
Truly appreciate life, and you'll find that you have more of it."
- Ralph Marston

In honor of Thanksgiving (4 days! 4 days!), I have decided to share what I am thankful for that helps keep me healthy. Hopefully this Thanksgiving week allows you time to reflect on all the blessings in your life.

1. Beautiful, organic, tasty food - and delicious "play" food as well. I am so lucky to have access to fresh, locally grown produce, organic and grass-fed meats, whole grains, and raw, organic dairy. I am also grateful for the beef and brie half sandwich I enjoyed at Bison Witches last night. Eating healthfully is a balance, and while it's so important to fill our plates with vibrant colors and real ingredients, it's also important to indulge in food that's just good for the soul.



As you approach the biggest eating holiday of the year, remember that Thanksgiving is an opportunity to be with family and friends and to share good food (and drink!), not a day to be anxious about calories or fat grams. That kind of extreme thinking will cause you to eat until you're stuffed and uncomfortable. Instead, how about this approach: fill your plate with your favorite foods, making sure to get plenty of variety, and eat until your body tells you it is time to stop. You can always enjoy more turkey, stuffing, or pie on Friday.

If you want to learn more about how to get off the crazy diet roller coaster, check out Intuitive Eating or Nourishing Connections - or contact me through my website.

I'm also so grateful to have a stocked pantry and food in my tummy every day. For so many people, getting enough food is a daily struggle. Whenever I feel discouraged or stressed, I remember that I always have a roof over my head, clothes on my back, and good food on the table.



2. Local farmers and ranchers. I adore farmers' markets. I am so grateful that I live in a state where they are open year-round, and I love getting to know the growers of my food. This year is especially wonderful because Rockhouse Cattle Company, from whom I buy my organic grass-fed beef at the North Scottsdale Farmers Market, decided to raise free range, organically grown turkeys for Thanksgiving. These turkeys are not raised with any antibiotics or other drugs, and they're not given any commercial feed. The best part? Rockhouse is delivering the turkey to my door this week!

3. Karve. I have been doing seminars for Karve Studio in Scottsdale and k Pilates in Mesa for 2 1/2 years now, and I work out at the Scottsdale studio at least 4-5 times per week. It's one workout that never gets easy, and it's actually fun to do! I look forward to every class. The instructors are wonderful, the music is motivating, and I feel lucky to have become friends with so many of the wonderful women there. It's like no workout you have ever done, and I promise if you check it out you will love it too! It has definitely changed my body, but more importantly, I'm stronger and more athletic than ever. The owner, Kendra Jordan, has created something truly special. I'm extremely excited for the North Scottsdale location to open in 2012!

(Photo courtesy of Karve Studio's Facebook page)

4. Massage Envy. Anyone who knows me knows that I try to do a bit too much in not quite enough time. I have been like this my whole life, and while I have been blessed with a lot of wonderful experiences and successes, it has also made me pretty high strung and not very good at relaxing. That's why I get a massage every month at Massage Envy. Since I have been a member for so long I only pay 39 bucks - 39 bucks!! - for a great massage from my man Pedro. He's really good at pinpointing pressure points and sore muscles that need some help (see #3, above), and I always feel incredibly relaxed when I leave. It's hard for me to sit still for a whole hour, but this monthly practice is helping me get better at learning how to relax. Woosah.


5. Great kitchen gadgets. Cooking is much easier when you have the right tools. I tell all of my clients that if they buy anything for their kitchen, they might want to consider a few really good knives, a crockpot, stainless steel pots and pans, and a toaster oven. Today's toaster ovens allow for multiple functions (bake, toast, warm, "pizza," etc.), and I love how I can make a quick dinner for 2 without heating up my whole kitchen.

6. Whole Living Magazine. I love Whole Living, a Martha Stewart publication stuffed with great recipes, workout ideas, and tips for balancing work, family, friends, and the stresses that come with them. I look forward to leafing through each beautiful page every month, and I have learned some great ideas that work well for myself and my clients. Check it out - they usually have great subscription deals this time of year.


7. My "children" and our daily walks. Greg and I are 100% obsessed with our mutts, Wanda and Waldo. These "angels" fell into our lives in April of 2008 and have brought joy, laughter, and companionship for almost 4 years. They are half Golden Retriever, half Australian shepherd mixes from the same litter, and I take them on 50-60 minute walks. Every. Day. Well, technically we joke that they are "W-O-Ks" (Wanda and Waldo speak). I rarely get away with missing a walk, because Mr. Man and Wanda Cow are on top of me as early as 4:45 AM, reminding me of my responsibility.

Waldo on the left, Wanda on the right

This daily routine is great, however, because it forces me to get out into the fresh air and enjoy our (often dark) neighborhood we work so hard to live in. We have met many a pooch and owner on our route, and we're always rosy-cheeked (or panting) when we return.


8. Like-minded dietitians and my clients. Food and nutrition can be very polarizing, and those of us who are open-minded to a more holistic approach are often the minority within the traditional "registered dietitian" realm. That's why I'm so grateful for strong, creative, and passionate RDs like Maya Nahra, Alisha Chasey, and Kathleen Bundy. Thank you for encouraging me to think outside the box.

I am grateful for the men and women who trust me to help them with their nutrition needs. Eating isn't just about food; it can be very complicated can be influenced by feelings of self-worth, family dynamics, and life stress. My clients share some of their most raw emotions with me, and I am grateful that they allow me to help them grow and change before my eyes.

9. Acupuncture. I have a few very important men in my life, and one of them is named Joshuah. Dr. Joshuah Kim is my acupuncturist and one of the most talented, kind, and compassionate practitioners I have ever met. His practice, Holy Hill Acupuncture in South Scottsdale, treats patients with a variety of maladies, but a lot of people see him because he helps them maintain good health. Joshuah takes my health very seriously and feels responsible when I don't feel well (a traditional Korean medical mindset that is much different than ours). He was trained as a physician in Korea and has helped many of my family, friends, clients, and coworkers. With his help, I have gone from being in constant pain to feeling great, and I will probably see him until he decides to stop practicing...or until he gets sick of me!

This is Joshuah. Yup, he's amazing.

10. Friends and family, of course! I value health so much because it allows me to enjoy my time spent with family and friends and to be there for them when I am needed. Plus, we are healthier when we foster meaningful friendships. I have been blessed with some really special people in my life, and I try to tell them - and show them - how much I love them as often as I can. Thank you for making my life and work meaningful.

Our wedding - February 21, 2009

FBR Open Brunch - February 2011

28th Birthday Taco Night - May 2011

The McNamees - April 2011

The Hammers/Sims/McNamees at my sister's wedding - July 2011

My little family :)

May you give thanks for that which keeps you healthy and happy this week.

*M*

Fun with Food - Grapefruitoons

My coworker's friend, a graphic designer, has started a really interesting blog where she uses REAL grapefruit skin and other things around her house to create grapefruit characters. She adds graphic backgrounds using her computer, but the actual characters are real, 3D "creatures" made by hand. It's truly remarkable what she can do with the rind of a grapefruit! (And, she's not wasting any food, since she also eats the grapefruit flesh.)

I like this website because it's a reminder that healthy eating can still be delicious, interesting, and fun. For those of you who have children, maybe you want to try something like this! Grapefruit is a great source of vitamin C and many phytochemicals, and it is grown locally here in Arizona.

Check out the Grapefruitoons website here.

Caveat: if you take certain medications, such as Lipitor (and other statins), Zoloft, or Allegra, do not eat grapefruit because it adversely interacts with these drugs. For more grapefruit-drug interactions, see this list.

So it begins...

I've been meaning to do a blog for a while, but last night I was inspired to start writing for two very specific reasons:

1. I forced my very patient husband to finish watching "Julie and Julia," starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams, with me. I had seen the first half on our cruise in December, and since I wanted to know how it ended, I rented it again. Since Blockbuster has quietly rescinded its promise of no late fees and the big DD (Due Date) was fast approaching, I knew that I had to know what happened to Julia Child and her faithful, decades-later follower, Julie Powell. I was not so impressed with the movie's ending, but I liked the idea of sharing my cooking experiences with friends and family through a blog like Julie's.

2. I was reading from "Self" magazine, a publication I used to like but now sort of hate because of its dieting undertones, and I learned about a registered dietitian who has blogged everything she eats for the last four years. She includes pictures and everything. Though the thought of agonizing over EVERY meal (and sharing each bite with the world) sounds a little involved, I thought it might be helpful to share the day-to-day trials and tribulations of an RD who is trying her best to take care of herself...whether that means experimenting with new, locally grown veggies or enjoying a really good slice of cheesecake, slowly and mindfully, when a big craving hits. I think people need to know that it's not easy for anyone, even so-called experts, but trying and learning is the best we can do. (Plus, I was a little annoyed that she, like most conventionally-trained RDs, was advocating eating 3 servings of low- or non-fat dairy daily, when I think pasteurized, low-fat dairy can be rather inflammatory to the system. More on that later.)

It's not just about cooking and healthy, natural foods, though; I myself have struggled with balancing being healthy but not bordering on crazy-about-food. As a dietetics student, I was your classic restrictive eater. I actually thought everyone should be constantly counting calories and obsessing over the scale. How did you know how much to eat if you didn't count and measure? Furthermore, how in the hell did people who just ate "normal" foods stay healthfully thin without even trying, while the rest of us slaved at the gym and agonized over each morsel eaten? Then, like in a movie where the clouds open up and the sun finally starts shining through, I heard about Intuitive Eating. What a novel idea, right? Eat when you're hungry? (What if you get hungry when it's not "time"?) Oh, and this stop when you're comfortably full jazz was interesting. (What if there's still food on my plate?) The hardest part was respecting the "eat the foods you truly enjoy" part. (Aren't cookies evil?)

I had the pleasure and honor of working with Dr. Carol Koprowski, a nutrition professor at USC and an Intuitive Eating convert herself, who introduced me to Elyse Resch. Elyse co-authored "Intuitive Eating" with Evelyn Tribole after years of recommending "conventional" weight loss approaches that just didn't work. Almost simultaneously, I was connected with a physician at USC who specialized in pediatric endocrinology and was looking for an RD to help co-author a guided imagery study utilizing Intuitive Eating concepts. Turns out it was Dr. Marc Weigensberg...Elyse Resch's husband. The universe could not have been more obvious, right? This was the direction I was supposed to go. I had to become an IE convert.

I had more bumps and bruises along the path of getting where I am today, especially in rejecting a lot of conventional nutrition and health recommendations due to my own experience and dissatisfaction, but I will leave those for another time.

As for now, I wish you happy, healthy eating and a few moments of time today to just be...

*M*