Forks Over Knives

With today being a “foodie” day, I figured it’s also a good day to share the trailer for “Forks Over Knives.”  I haven’t seen the full length feature and I’ll admit part of me is afraid, while another part is highly intrigued.

I’ve been vegetarian since I was 15 (9 years ago...wow! I feel old again), and I’ve never once regretted my decision.  For anyone curious, I stopped eating meat because I didn’t like how it tasted, so it seemed silly to keep eating it when there were plenty of other delicious foods out there.  As with every (or at least most) new vegetarians, I went through my phases of eating poorly and trying to figure out what I should be eating as a vegetarian to stay healthy.  And I also went through the phase of college where I ate the same things all the time because the vegetarian options in the “Caf” seemed unappealing and like reheated left-overs everyday.  I ate a lot of bagels, grilled cheese, pasta and tuna wraps.  Clearly from that you can tell I still eat seafood (it’s pretty delicious so it’s stayed).

After living on my own in a place where I could make my own meals, I began eating healthier.  I still struggled with the tight budget I was living (and still do) live under, but I’ve spent years now working to find healthy convenient alternatives while still allowing myself some of my favorite comfort foods (like Kraft 3-Cheese Mac & Cheese).  I’ve also come to the point where I try very hard to eat more “real” food.  When you eat well and know what’s in your food, you feel better about the things you’re putting into your body and the energy that’s coming out of it.

But even the trailer alone for “Forks Over Knives” scared me into being happy I’m a vegetarian and spend every day of my life working hard to live a healthy one.

Consider yourself warned.

Foodie For a Day - Snacks

Snacks are the kinds of things that bring people down.  You can spend your entire day eating well, but when you get a little hungry between meals what you grab for can make or break your day.

I’ve never been someone to choose salty foods very often, but sweets are my weakness.  I do enjoy chips on occasion but I generally feel like they weren’t worth the calories and I’d rather have something sweet.  Or after eating them, I just feel gross.  Why do we do things like that to ourselves?  Same goes for sweets though.  I may get a craving and it won’t go away until I finally give in to that bite of chocolate or cup of frozen yogurt, but it’s bound to make me and my body unhappy later.  

It’s taken a long time for me to realize the affect sugar can take on my body (aside from the obvious “unhealthy” statistics that are out there), but the mental and physical strain it can take on my body for days to come.  Every morning I wake up with an uneasy stomach that carries through the majority of the day, I can look back and remember the sugary treat I had the day before.  It may not have even been a “treat” but rather a day where too much sugar was consumed overall.  Upon coming to this realization, I’ve been working very hard to be aware of my sugar intake and greatly reduce my consumption.  Quite honestly, since doing so, my body and my mind feels so much better.

There are some people out there who realize the negative impact alcohol has on their emotional well being, even after just one drink.  And I don’t even mean people who have a problem with alcohol; I mean just people who realize the next day they feel unhappy or their bodies feel unhappy.  I’m not that way with alcohol but I am that way with sugar.  I feel sluggish and moody after too much sugar.

So whether you have a sweet tooth like me or prefer salty indulgences, I figured I’d show you some of my favorite snacks. 

Hummus + whole wheat mini pitas (microwave them for a few seconds if they get a little stale) ;)

Hummus + fresh veggies

Produce: oranges, apples, mangoes, carrots, etc (And yes I will eat ALL of that produce!)

Yogurt.  The TJ 0% Vanilla greek yogurt + granola is my favorite afternoon snack.

Bars! I usually have one of these with my coffee on my first 15 at work.

Trail mix.  I like ones with a variety of nuts and dried fruit. (And this one even has chocolate pieces..yum!)

Speaking of snacks, I’m hungry. :)

Oh and I think I’ll go make dinner too...

Proof You Don't Need (a lot of) Gray Hair to Feel Old:

My sister shared this earlier today and I just had to share it with everyone else because at 24 years, it definitely made me feel old. 

40 Things That Will Make You Feel Old

It’s actually interesting that Bethany shared this today because just the other day “Zack Morris” aka Mark-Paul Gosselaar came into my Apple store.  One of my coworkers went over the walkie “for anyone interested, Zack Morris is in the store and at the iPad table.” 

You better believe I walked my butt out of the office and to the floor just to catch a quick glimpse.  I just missed him!  I was bummed but it led to a conversation that made me feel old.  I didn’t realize I was at the tail end of the generation that knew and watched “Saved by the Bell” every Saturday morning.  I work with people of all ages and I forget  that those 21 and under may not necessarily know such amazing Saturday morning TV.  I’m kind of old...I think it’s official.

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Enough said.

I don't have much for you today after a mentally challenging yoga class that nearly ended in tears (and pained knees), so I leave you with this:


"The journey is the reward"

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Enough said. 

I Joined Twitter?

Now I better explain before I send my sister into some crazy awful panic and rampage about how much she hates Twitter...

Quite honestly, it’s been one of those trends that I was trying to avoid for many years (and have successfully).  I never quite saw the point and sometimes I still don’t.  And if I’m being entirely honest, when it comes to social networking, I’d rather spend my time with Facebook but there comes a time when the benefits begin to show themselves.

I’m a blogger.  I have readers (thank you for reading!).  I want to keep my “audience” engaged.  I don’t do this for you (sorry), I do it for me but at the same time, I’m here to spread a message.  Therefore I want to give you access, since I can’t always be blogging 24/7.

The exciting thing is that I decided to do this last night.  I found some of my friends.  I found some businesses I frequent.  I found some bands I enjoy.  I started following all of them.  As expected, people started following me.  What I didn’t expect was the onslaught of yoga and fitness related companies / people / etc that began following me.  This may seem silly but it gave me a sense of hope and encouragement that I can touch people and share my message and educate about the aspects of my life that I’m extremely passionate about like nutrition and fitness.

I have yet to regret my decision.  Or feel overwhelmed by it.

So if you have a Twitter account and would like to follow me, I would love that!

talkless_saymor

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Research

That’s exactly what I need to do: Research.

Unfortunately, at the initial thought of it, I go into panic mode and don’t know where to start.  I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately.  Allowing my mind to be in the moment and take the thoughts as they come up, whatever comes up.  I’ve shared the thoughts running through my head and have received quite the varying reactions, but all very passionate responses.  Some people are passionate that I should move forward with those thoughts, some passionate that I’d be crazy to think about anything else, others passionate in the belief I must do/be whatever will make me happy.  It’s very interesting the reactions I get and from the people I get them from.  Ultimately, I know it’s because they all believe in me and my abilities to be successful.

But really, what this all brings me to is a question of how can I combine all the passions that I have in my life into one career?  Or how do I find a way to do all of them, while helping others?  Because it has become clear to me that doing just one thing, won’t make me happy.  It’s clear to me that I want to do something that allows me to be my own boss.  I know I want to do something that allows me to share my passion with the world.  But I don’t want to share just one.  I don’t want to throw my eggs all in one basket because I’ve seen where that gets me.  But I also know that I can’t do something unless I’m passionate about it.  If I believe in what I’m doing, if I get truly excited about what I’m doing, it’s the easiest thing to do.  And then, even when it gets tough, I enjoy the challenge and the journey.  It becomes fun.

So what does this mean?  It means there’s research ahead of me.  And I have no idea where to start.  Or where to go.  So for now, I’m trying to just be and breathe through it.  I’ll go into my inner self and just breathe.  At some point I’ll find an answer, but for now, I need to brainstorm and figure out a starting point.  And breathe.  I anticipate a lot of breathing.

Mid-Way Check Point

I’m half way through my 30 day yoga challenge.  Technically, yesterday was day 15 but I was too tired to post my check point last night after getting home from my coffee date with my friend Heather.

I have to tell you I am absolutely loving this challenge.  In no way has it been easy.  I’ve loved it but making myself go to yoga every single day is no easy task.  As with everyone, there are days I just want to be lazy and spend the entire day sitting on my couch but I made a promise to myself that I was going to successfully complete this challenge, and so I will.

Despite the challenges, I have loved the process.  I love taking the habits learned and used in class and applying them to my everyday life.  Sometimes it’s just as simple as letting out a big sigh to release the tension built up inside my body.  And it works. 

While I’m enjoying this journey, I’m also looking forward to finishing the challenge so I can find the best balance between lifting, cardio and yoga; all aspects of fitness that I find important, as well as enjoy.

So for now I continue to push forward with each day, trying new classes and new instructors as fits into my schedule and continuing to enjoy the classes I’ve come to love and crave to attend each week.  I will keep you all updated and continue to embrace and appreciate your support as I move forward. 

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