It's not a project, it's called life

Another incredibly long day. I think it's been about 16 hours with maybe a half hour break that I've been staring at this computer. My eyeballs feel like burned out sockets.

I managed to get in a good workout this morning and my eating has been great. Mainly because I don't really have time to think much about food. That gives you a clue as to how busy my work has been. Food is always on my mind!

I've been thinking about what I wrote yesterday, Monday. About how I couldn't handle another project right now, referring to my weight loss. The truth is that I can't look at it as a "project". That's been my problem (or part of it) my entire life. If I couldn't give it 100% of my focus I would fail. When I'm 100% on and it's my entire focal point, I'm good. When things, like life, get in my way, that's when I really have problems.

My goal this time during this work stress is to just to get through it the best I can. Get to the gym, even if it's only thirty minutes, which lately there's been a few days that was all I could squeeze into my day. Today it was an hour and a half, which felt great, but thirty minutes is my minimum, an hour is better, and an hour and a half is optimal. Of course, watch my eating. Maybe I can't journal every bite, but I know what to do and what not to do when it comes to food. I'm not new at this game. :)

One of these days, soon I hope, things will be back to normal. Right now, I just have to make the best of it.

I've finally hit the wall

It's taken several weeks of long hours and little sleep, but I've finally hit the wall. I'm exhausted beyond words. I feel so tired, like I could sleep for weeks.

I got hit up today with a new requirement for what I've been working on. It's not something I can do in an hour, but will probably take a full day of heads down coding. We go to prod in a week, I wanted to yell, "You've got to be kidding!". Hopefully I live through this period of my life.

I've already decided I'm taking a week off as soon as this misery is over. I need some down time to just unwind at home. I can hardly wait. I want my life back!

Not much else to report. My eating is pretty good, but not perfect. No fast food or sugar, just too much of the good stuff. I'm not gaining weight, but holding steady at 173. That doesn't make me happy but right now I just can't deal with another project in my life.

It's a little after 8:30pm and I'm going to bed. My three hours of sleep last night is catching up with me. I miss the old me. I feel like I've lost myself along the way.

When did I become so boring?

I wanted to post quickly to let everyone know I'm still alive and haven't given up.

Someone told me last week that they read my blog, and it's always either I'm working out or I'm having a bad day at work.

It made me reflect on how sad this little blog has become lately. No insight on life or revelations or thoughts about weight loss. Just work and gym. Gym and work.

I actually had a really fun Saturday this weekend (although I worked 12 hours Sunday...but such is life). We went to a Karala Association of Washington festival. It was their new year celebration. Karala is in India, the Southwestern portion. A coworker of my husband is from Karala and she invited us to attend. A coworker of mine is from a province near Karala so I invited him to go with us.

It was very fun. There was a lunch, made of traditional Indian food, all homemade. We ate on green waxed paper that symbolized bamboo leaves and ate with our fingers. I learned how to use my three fingers and thumb to mush the food together, scoop up a mouthful with my three fingers and then push it into my mouth with my thumb. Very messy but kind of fun.

After the lunch were was a three-hour show of dancing and skits (all skits were spoken in Malayalam, the language of Karala). My friend Naga speaks a different language, but could still translate some of the Malayalam for us.

Luckily most of it was dancing and a fashion show (they used Lady Gaga music for part of the fashion show). The clothing was gorgeous, some traditional Saris and then some modern Indian clothing. The women were all model material. Beautiful. Some of the music was from Bollywood, which is like Hollywood but in Bombay, India (It's called Mumbai but Naga said in India the locals all still call it Bombay and think Mumbai is stupid).

One of the dances was done by teenage girls dancing to Jai Ho (from Slimdog Millionaire - the song at the end of the movie). It was really good. Actually they were all fantastic dancers. Even the little kids did some of the dancing, five and six year olds. They were much better than I could ever dream of being.

It was really fun having Naga with us, especially since we were the only non-Indian people there, among about 300 people. I learned so much about the Indian culture, the Hindu religion, their beliefs and customs. India is very rich culturally, and I loved learning about their way life. It was also very interesting being the minority, but everyone was super nice to us.

These litle girls were just amazing.

Everyone had gorgeous costumes.

These girls were teenagers. I talked to then after the show. They were so beautiful and very talented dancers.

My husband's coworker, Divya and her husband. They were in a really sweet little skit that made everyone laugh.

Naga and myself, and lots of food.

Potatoes and Human Health, Part I

Potatoes: an Introduction

Over 10,000 years ago, on the shores of lake Titicaca in what is now Peru, a culture began to cultivate a species of wild potato, Solanum tuberosum. They gradually transformed it into a plant that efficiently produces roundish starchy tubers, in a variety of strains that suited the climactic and gastronomic needs of various populations. These early farmers could not have understood at the time that the plant they were selecting would become the most productive crop in the world*, and eventually feed billions of people around the globe.

Wild potatoes, which were likely consumed by hunter-gatherers before domestication, are higher in toxic glycoalkaloids. These are defensive compounds that protect against insects, infections and... hungry animals. Early farmers selected varieties that are low in bitter glycoalkaloids, which are the ancestors of most modern potatoes, however they didn't abandon the high-glycoalkaloid varieties. These were hardier and more tolerant of high altitudes, cold temperatures and pests. Cultures living high in the Andes developed a method to take advantage of these hardy but toxic potatoes, as well as their own harsh climate: they invented chuños. These are made by leaving potatoes out in the open, where they are frozen at night, stomped underfoot and dried in the sun for many days**. What results is a dried potato with a low glycoalkaloid content that can be stored for a year or more.

Nutritional Qualities

From a nutritional standpoint, potatoes are a mixed bag. On one hand, if I had to pick a single food to eat exclusively for a while, potatoes would be high on the list. One reason is that they contain an adequate amount of complete protein, meaning they don't have to be mixed with another protein source as with grains and legumes. Another reason is that a number of cultures throughout history have successfully relied on the potato as their principal source of calories, and several continue to do so. A third reason is that they're eaten in an unrefined, fresh state.

Potatoes contain an adequate amount of many essential minerals, and due to their low phytic acid content (1), the minerals they contain are well absorbed. They're rich in magnesium and copper, two minerals that are important for insulin sensitivity and cardiovascular health (2, 3). They're also high in potassium and vitamin C. Overall, they have a micronutrient content that compares favorably with other starchy root vegetables such as taro and cassava (4, 5, 6). Due to their very low fat content, potatoes contain virtually no omega-6, and thus do not contribute to an excess of these essential fatty acids.

On the other hand, I don't have to eat potatoes exclusively, so what do they have to offer a mixed diet? They have a high glycemic index, which means they raise blood sugar more than an equivalent serving of most carbohydrate foods, although I'm not convinced that's a problem in people with good blood sugar control (7, 8). They're low-ish in fiber, which could hypothetically lead to a reduction in the number and diversity of gut bacteria in the absence of other fiber sources. Sweet potatoes, an unrelated species, contain more micronutrients and fiber, and have been a central food source for healthy cultures (9). However, the main reasons temperate-climate cultures throughout the world eat potatoes is they yield well, they're easily digested, they fill you up and they taste good.

In the next post, I'll delve into the biology and toxicology of potato glycoalkaloids, and review some animal data. In further posts, I'll address the most important question of all: what happens when a person eats mostly potatoes... for months, years, and generations?


* In terms of calories produced per acre.

** A simplified description. The process can actually be rather involved, with several different drying, stomping and leaching steps.

Why Proactol Works For Weight Loss: Reviewing The Research (Part 1)

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions around the world and now affects hundreds of millions of people. Obesity increases the risk of many negative health conditions like stroke, heart attack, cancer, and type 2 diabetes. Usually the result of an imbalance between energy intake and expenditure, obesity is treated through dieting, exercise, pharmacology, and surgery.

Exercise and dieting can prove fruitful only if an individual is capable of following a regular routine over a long period of time. However, many people struggling with obesity find it difficult to keep to their dieting routine, which results in failed attempts at treating obesity.

Of course, there are pharmacological options available to treat obesity. Drugs like sibutramine, phentermine, and orlistat are often prescribed to those trying to

lose weight

. Many of these drugs offer promising initial results. However, these treatments are linked to rebound weight gain. Additionally, they can prove addictive and sometimes have unwanted side effects.

Surgical interventions on the other hand, have been used to treat special cases of obesity. However these procedures are often dangerous and lead to permanent changes to the digestive system. Surgery is rarely the right choice.

Due to the low success rate of so many conventional treatments for obesity, more people turn to herbal medicine. Recently,

herbal remedies for weight loss

have garnered much attention. Many people seek natural remedies because they dislike the side effects of pharmacological options. Go to Proactol web page right now.

The Specter Key Trailer [HD]

Check out this book trailer for an upcoming book. I've talked about Bran Hambric: The Farfield Curse before in other posts, this is the sequel. It's called Bran Hambric: The Specter Key. It certainly has a chance to make it to the NYT Best Seller's List.

At the end of the trailer, there is a link to sample chapters. Be sure to check them out.

Come 10/10/10, you will find me reading this on the elliptical....

Drink Water to Lose Weight

Does drinking water help you lose weight? Yes! Here’s how:

Recent research in hydration science reveals that both the temperature of water and when it’s consumed trigger astonishing weight loss.

Although you’ve likely heard the advice to drink more water to lose weight, it’s crucial to employ this little-known approach: “The secret is to alternate drinking water of different temperatures- hot, lukewarm and cold- throughout the day since each of these temperatures plays a different role in weight regulation,” explains Barbara Hendel, M.D., coauthor of Water & Salt (Natural Resources, 2003).

In fact, alternating three water temperatures to capitalize on the unique benefits of each could make your body’s weight loss systems up to 50 percent more effective, allowing you to easily lose up to 10 pounds per week, according to research at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore. That’s a total loss of 30 pounds or more in a month.

“Water’s importance is often overlooked, yet it is the key to fast, hassle-free, lasting weight loss”, says Christopher Vasey, N.D., author of The Water Prescription (Healing Arts Press, 2006).

How drinking water in different-temperatures speeds up weight loss in unique ways:

1. Hot water triggers a body-wide detox. When cellular levels of toxins rise, your body concentrates them in the liver, lymph system, intestines and skin in an effort to speed their excretion, according to researchers at the University of Stirling in Scotland. Problem is, the stored toxins end up slowing down metabolism.

To the rescue: hot water. By flooding the GI tract with heat, it promotes peristalsis- muscle contractions that encourage the movement of toxins from the liver and lymph system into the digestive tract, stimulating their elimination from the body, suggests research at the Preventive Medical Center of Marin in San Rafael, California. “Hot water also makes your pores open slightly,” adds Dr. Hendel. “This allows extra toxins stored in skin tissue to evaporate into the air”.

2. Lukewarm water suppresses appetite. When lukewarm water enters the stomach, the organ registers fullness more quickly than with hot or cold water. “Lukewarm water doesn’t set off the drastic hot/cold alarm signals in the brain, so it’s easier to gulp down a full glass at once,” says Dr. Hendel.

This action causes the stomach to expand rapidly, stimulating the brain’s vagus nerve to turn off hunger pangs, she explains. Room-temperature water is also more rapidly absorbed by the stomach lining, so it doesn’t stall the digestive process the way liquids of other temperatures can.

The result: a quicker stabilization of blood sugar- which shuts down food cravings, adds Dr. Hendel.

3. Cold water gives your body a work out. Your metabolic rate jumps as much as 3 percent within 10 minutes of finishing a glass of cold water, and it stays elevated for 30 minutes thereafter, say experts at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.

The reason: Your digestive tract has to work harder to heat cold water before the water can be absorbed and used by cells, explains Dr. Vasey. “This process takes an enormous amount of energy, which your body derives by breaking down food and fat to release their stored calories.”

Hydration produces amazing benefits:

- mental clarity increases by 20% in 30 minutes
- Late night hunger pangs disappear
- Energy levels increase by 89% in 24 hours
- Blue moods lift and sleep improves in 72 hours
- Exercise endurance increases in 4 days
- Chronic back pain end in 1 week
- Joint pain eases in 2 weeks
- Peptic ulcers heal in 3 weeks

Next>>

How to lose weight by drinking water, the tricks that will help you lose 30 pounds in less than a month