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By Katie, September 3, 2010 5:28 am

I’m still out of town and unable to blog, so I dipped into my archives and resurrected this post from February. I still find the message quite relevant, and I’m excited to read your thoughts on the subject!

A friend of mine shared with me recently that she received a promotion – complete with a raise – at work. While on the outside this currently-unemployed woman smiled and expressed how happy I was for her, on the inside I felt a twinge of the green-eyed monster.

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I admit it. I was jealous.

I hate feeling jealous. Envy is an uncomfortable emotion, one that leaves me feeling irritable and isolated in the very moment I should be feeling happiness and connection.

I used to feel jealous of others all the time (it went hand-in-hand with my bad habit of constantly comparing myself to others). Then I realized that my envy had absolutely nothing to do with the other person; it stemmed completely from my own insecurities. Deep down, the only reason I was jealous was because I saw myself in competition with other people, so their success made me feel somehow lessened or inadequate.

I couldn’t stop feeling envious until I gained greater confidence in myself – the kind of confidence that emerges from within rather than through comparisons to others.

While of course I still feel jealous sometimes (like when I heard about my friend’s promotion), now I try to combat that ugly feeling by cultivating sympathetic joy. Sympathetic joy is a feeling of true happiness for another’s good fortune. It removes the “me” from the equation and focuses entirely on sharing someone else’s delight.

Sometimes it’s easy to experience sympathetic joy, particularly when the other person’s good news does not pertain to one of your own desires. Other times it’s a lot more difficult: your best friend gets engaged when you’ve secretly been dying for your boyfriend to pop the question, your co-worker gets promoted to the position you desperately wanted, an acquaintance goes on your dream vacation (the one you currently cannot afford).

While those are the situations where sympathetic joy is most difficult to cultivate, they’re also the situations where it’s most important. Because who really wants to feel jealous, right?

The next time I feel that twinge of envy, I want to try my hardest to replace it with sympathetic joy by remembering that happiness is not a non-renewable resource. There is not a fixed amount of it in the world and when it’s gone, it’s gone. When we feel sympathetic joy for another’s good fortune, happiness only multiplies. And that is always a good thing!

Do you ever struggle with jealousy? What do you think about the idea of replacing jealousy with sympathetic joy?

Comments (18)

By Katie, September 2, 2010 5:20 am

Hi, everyone! I am away for a few days and won’t be able to blog per my usual schedule, so for today please enjoy this guest post from Candice. Her weight loss journey and dedication to a clean-but-flexible diet are truly inspirational. Enjoy! :-)

I’m Candice from Clean Eating and Me, a blog that details my journey through clean food, fitness, and life generally. Katie asked me to write a guest post for Health for the Whole Self while she is on vacation. Thanks for the opportunity Katie!

First, let me give you a brief description of myself. I recently lost 80 pounds. I did so by following WeightWatchers. During the weight loss process, I realized the harm that processed foods can cause.The majority of packaged foods contain large amounts of chemicals, including preservatives, dyes, and artificial sweeteners. Unlike drugs, most of these ingredients are only minimally if at all approved by the FDA prior to being used in products. The FDA typically only regulates these ingredients after harm is caused. That’s a risk that I don’t want to take. Not to mention that I feel 100% better when I eat clean than if I eat processed foods. So I moved to clean eating.

Second, let me describe what clean eating means to me:

- No more than 5 ingredients in a food. The only exception is if more than 5 ingredients makes sense. For example, with mixed nuts or trail mix.

- I must be able to recognize and pronounce all ingredients.

- No preservatives.

- I eat mostly plant-based foods. Fruits, veggies, and grains consist of the majority of food. I usually incorporate a small amount of meat into my dinner. This usually carries over into lunch because my lunches are typically leftovers from dinner.

- I eat only fat free dairy products, except for cheese where I usually choose 2%, mostly to avoid the unhealthy saturated animal fats.

- I eat as organic as I possibly can so that I can avoid the chemicals in non-organic foods. Certain things I will only eat organic, including all meat and all fruits and veggies on the dirty dozen list. In the past few months, I’ve made a few deviations from this rule due to cost prohibition. I now eat non-organic dairy and eggs.

- I eat intuitively. While I used to follow WeightWatchers and strongly believe in the program for weightloss and initial maintenance, I also believe that permanent maintenance is best done intuitively for me. I eat when I’m hungry and I try to balance my meals and snacks to meet my nutritional needs.

- Deviations are acceptable. Life is about living, not following rules all the time.

Third, let me give you a sample daily menu that I typically eat.

Breakfast
Oatmeal made with 1/3 cup oats, 2/3 cup fat free milk, 1 tbsp peanut butter (or other nut butter), and 1 banana sliced. I also enjoy overnight oats made with oats, berries, milk, yogurt, and peanut butter.

Lunch and Dinner
Lunches are typically leftovers from dinner the night before, but a smaller portion. For this reason, I lump lunch and dinner together. For example, last week, I ate what my husband and I refer to as “Porky Mix.” I ground an organic pork tenderloin, brown it, then mixed it with frozen corn, zucchini, and paprika. I served this over boiled new potatoes. Then I topped everything with flavored goat cheese.

Another example is my version of chicken cordon bleu. I wrapped proscuitto and swiss cheese inside an organic thin-sliced chicken breast and then baked. I served with some fresh sweet corn from our CSA!

If these food pictures tempt you to learn more about my food choices, then check out my blog, Clean Eating and Me, where you can follow all the clean eating tips and clean eats that I share.

Question from Katie: I know the phrase “clean eating” gets tossed around a lot. What does it mean to you? Do you follow any of the principles Candice outlined here?

Comments (44)

By Katie, September 1, 2010 5:05 am

WARNING: If When you make this, you will have trouble containing yourself after the first bite. You will want to shovel it into your mouth as quickly as possible, not because you are eating emotionally, but because it is simply that good.

I urge you to contain yourself, but I also understand if that just isn’t possible.

But wait, it gets better. Delicious isn’t the only name of the game here. This salad also takes approximately zero time to make (ok, not exactly zero, but close to it!). All you really do is chop everything up, so it’s a great opportunity to work on those knife skills (which, believe me, make cooking so much faster and easier).

You can use it as a chip-dip at those upcoming football game parties. You can plop it on top of crushed tortilla chips for a taco-salad-like meal. You can wrap it into a tortilla. Or you can eat it as is. The choice is yours. 

Guacamole Salad
from Branny Boils Over (originally from the Barefoot Contessa, so no wonder it’s delicious!)
Serves 4

Ingredients
1 large tomato, diced
1 large avocado, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 cup black beans (drained and rinsed if from a can)
2 scallions, thinly sliced
2 tsp minced jalapeno
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
pinch of cayenne pepper (or to taste)

1. Chop all of your ingredients according to the ingredient list. Combine first seven items (through minced garlic) in a large bowl.

2. Whisk together lemon juice, salt, and peppers. Pour over salad.

3. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Avocados: Love ‘em? Hate ‘em? No strong feelings towards ‘em? By themselves I don’t think they’re anything special, but with a dash of sea salt they make me swoon.

AND

Do you have a dish that makes you go weak in the knees? One that forces you to pace yourself, otherwise you’ll go bananas because it is THAT good?

Comments (34)

By Katie, August 31, 2010 5:37 am

If you’ve ever made a Mii, or if you know what DDR stands for, or if you’ve exercised using a balance board, then you’ve probably tried exergaming.

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That’s right, the new style of video game that requires the player to get off the couch and move a little bit has officially prompted a new vocbulary word: exergaming. I’m talking games like Wii Sports, Dance Dance Revolution, and EA Sports.

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This Baltimore Sun article reports that the American Academy of Pediatrics has officially declared that playing these kinds of video games can be considered exercise. Indeed, a recent study in the research journal Pediatrics found that playing the more intense ones – like Wii Boxing – was equivalent to moderate-intensity walking.

Honestly, this doesn’t really surprise me. We own a Wii, and I have definitely worked up quite a sweat beating playing Dave in match after match of tennis, or swinging over and over again in a baseball homerun derby. Indeed, many “relaxing” Friday evenings with the Wii have left me tired and sore the following day!

But does this really mean that video-game buffs can now swing, punch, and dance their way into decent physical shape, all in front of the television? It’s questionable. Like everything in life, it’s all about balance. Wii Tennis can never take the place of picking up a racket, acing a serve, sprinting across the court – you know, actually playing tennis. Skiing down the virtual slopes will never be as good – both physically and mentally – as feeling the chill on your face at the top of an actual snowy mountain.

In other words, as the article states, “exergaming beats sitting around staring at the screen…but those games don’t provide as much benefit as participating in actual sports.”

Overall, I think exergames are a great way to add a physical component to an otherwise sedentery activity. They also make moving fun by adding the element of playful competition. But they’re never going to replace fitness centers and walking trails.  While they make a great addition to a workout routine, there will be always be something special about old-fashioned exercise, no technology required.

So have you exergamed? If so, which type of exergame did you play? Did you enjoy it?

AND

Do you think people can get a good workout from things like Wii and Dance Dance Revolution?

Comments (56)

By Katie, August 30, 2010 5:22 am

Sometimes I’m surprised by the places I learn interesting lessons about my health, by the situations that force me to look at my relationship with myself in a new light.

For example, who would have thought I’d have an epiphany about body metaphors in this environment?

At a Baltimore Ravens pre-season football game? Really?

Really.

While cheering my team on to VICTORY , I was thinking about this article I recently read about the players’ nutritionist. This woman has quite a job – making sure a bunch of huge guys get the proper fuel for all of the running, throwing, kicking, tackling, pushing and shoving that they get paid to do.

Which got me thinking: in order to be successful, football players (and their nutritionists) have to conceive of their bodies in a particular way; they utilize a particular metaphor for their bodies that influences how they treat it. I bet a lot of these guys think of their bodies as machines.

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The body-as-machine metaphor is a pretty common one, but there are lots of others, too. For example, some people think of their bodies as their art form.

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Others use their bodies as a display.

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A lot of people think of their bodies through the Biblical metaphor of body-as-temple, or holy site.

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Some people build their careers around fixing bodies that are broken, healing bodies that are bruised.

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Some people use parts of their bodies as their instruments.

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And some people see their bodies as a site of peace and relaxation. Their bodies become the channel through which they find rest and rejuvenation.

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For a long time, I subscribed to a rather unhealthy body metaphor: body as measuring stick.

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I thought my body was a measurement of my success in life; I used my weight to determine my worth, and assumed others were doing the same.

But a metaphor is only worthwhile to the extent that it is helpful and true, and the measuring stick illustration is neither of those. So I traded it in for a better one.

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These days I think of my body as my home. I don’t want to get too attached to my home because I know it is only temporary, and what’s inside is what really matters. But I still want to take care of it because, well, I have to live there! A home that’s messy and malfunctioning brings with it extra stress and headaches, which takes time and energy away from all the wonderful stuff life has to offer. But a home that is clean and operating efficiently becomes a place you want to go to, a place where you feel comfortable.

I want my home – my body – to be a happy and healthy environment, but at the same time I’m not placing more emphasis on it than it deserves. That’s a metaphor I can live by.

Do you identify with any of the body metaphors mentioned above? Do you have another one to share?

OR (if that question is too taxing for a Monday!)

Are you a football fan? What’s your favorite team? Have you ever been to a live game?

**Note to the English nerds out there: I realize I am actually using similes, not metaphors, but “body metaphors” just had a nicer ring to it.

Comments (59)

By Katie, August 28, 2010 5:16 am

Lately the idea of making a “bucket list” – filled with everything you’d like to experience and accomplish before you kick said bucket – has become quite popular. I’ve decided to take a cue from Holly over at The Balance Broad and make a version that’s a bit more specialized.

I present to you…

My Kitchen Bucket List

Before I leave this lovely little planet, I would like to…

1. Successfully caramelize onions.

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I ♥ caramelized onions so much, especially as a pizza topping! But I have yet to master the art of not burning them.

2. Make a loaf of bread…without a breadmaker.

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I’m not talking sweet breads here, people. Indeed, I was quite successful with making Gingered Applesauce Bread with Dark Chocolate. But I want to make hearty bread. And I know it’s doable because the Hubby has done it before, in my very own kitchen. But I didn’t help…not even a little bit. Oops!

3. Make pretty stuffed chicken breasts.

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For whatever reason I am convinced that stuffing a chicken breast is very difficult, way out of my culinary range. Not sure where I got that idea, actually, but it’s something I’d like to try adding to my repertoire.

4. Bake a cake (or a pie!) from scratch.

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As I mentioned earlier this week, baking is not exactly my specialty. So to successfully bake a scratch-made cake or pie would just be the epitome of awesomeness.

5. Feed my (future) baby homemade baby food.

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No, Mom, there’s no bun in the oven yet! I’m just thinking ahead!

6. Roll my own sushi.

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Again, super intimidating. Which is exactly why I want to give it a shot!

7. Learn to use our outdoor grill.

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Dave is definitely the grill master in our household, and there’s a part of me that would be content to keep it that way forever. But what about female independence? I can’t be relying on a man every time I crave that smoky flavor!

8. Make my own ketchup.

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I’m sure this lovely lady will support this endeavor.

9. Make my own fresh pasta.

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Flour, a couple of eggs, a little bit of salt…how hard can it possible be, right?

And last, but certainly not least…

10. Bake a batch of perfect chocolate chip cookies.

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Again with the baking! But I can’t help myself; there’s just nothing like a warm chocolate chip cookie straight out of the oven…and someday I’d like that oven to be mine! Wanna place bets that I’ll try recipe after recipe, only to find that the best one is from Nestle Toll House?

Which items on my Kitchen Bucket List have you already checked off?

AND

What’s on YOUR Kitchen Bucket List?

Comments (34)

By Katie, August 27, 2010 5:53 am

Once you enter the world of Intuitive Eating, your eating issues seem to magically melt away. You always listen to your body. You eat when you reach the exact right level of hunger, and you stop when you hit that perfect state of satisfaction. You honor your cravings but never go overboard. Everything, until the end of time, is perfect.

Right?

Yeah, right.

One of the most common questions people face when they begin an Intuitive Eating journey is this: “But what do I do when the circumstances simply don’t allow for Intuitive Eating?”

Lately I’ve been facing this question on an almost-daily basis. You see, the office I started working at in June is rather small – five employees, to be exact. And we eat lunch together every single day. Not by force, and not by intentional design. It’s just the way it is, and the way it always was.

So I eat lunch, admist conversation with my boss and co-workers, every afternoon at 12:30 on the dot.

In so many ways this is a blessing. It gives me a chance to connect with the other staff members on a deeper level. It forces me to take time away from my desk to eat a nourishing meal. But it also makes it really difficult to honor my hunger cues.

Some days 12:30 rolls around and I’m not the slightest bit hungry. My body simply doesn’t want food at that moment, and yet I feed it anyway. Other days I’m ravenous by noon and fear that I’ll chew my arm off by the time the clock says it’s officially lunch time in my office. And other days I’m so hungry at 11:30 that I eat a snack, which totally throws me off the 12:30-lunch schedule. Days when my hunger perfectly matches my office schedule are gloriously rare.

But you know what? That’s ok.

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FACT: There are going to be times when you simply cannot eat at the exact right moment of hunger. There are going to be days in which external circumstances leave you ravenous, and others when you will eat (either by force or by choice) when you’re not really hungry at all. That’s just life.

No rule or guideline – regarding eating or anything else in life - is going to be applicable to every situation you face. The only solution is to accept it, be flexible, go with the flow, roll with the punches.

Believe me, I know that’s easier said than done. No one has ever called me the Queen of Rolling with the Punches.

But still, when you’re faced with situations where honoring your body’s cues just doesn’t work, the only thing to do is not stress about it. Because when you start stressing over eating intuitively, you’re missing the entire point of the experience: to stop stressing so much over your eating habits!

Intuitive Eating won’t solve your eating issues; indeed, it brings with it its own set of challenges and struggles. It ain’t gonna be perfect, but remember this: perfection was never the goal in the first place.

Do you find there are days/circumstances that make listening to and honoring your body’s cues close to impossible? How do you deal?

AND

Are you pretty good about going with the flow when it comes to your eating habits? As for me, I’m working on it…

Comments (54)

By Katie, August 26, 2010 5:17 am

Alternate Title: The Obamas Like It Sweet.

Alternate Alternate Title: Katie Can’t Bake. Jessica, will you please come give me a personal lesson?

I consider myself to be a decent cook at this point. But I have yet to find true success with baking. How a person who can perfectly sear a scallop can simultaneously fail so miserably with baked goods is beyond me.

Take, for instance, these White House Granola Bars, inspired by a recipe from the Obama family’s pastry chef. They actually look pretty good.

But in reality they turned out way too sweet, way too sticky, and way too thin. Oops!

The recipe calls for mixed dried fruit, so I used this great Trader Joe’s blend of golden raisins, cherries, cranberries, and blueberries.

My final mixture contained: toasted oats, toasted sunflower seeds, olive oil, honey, Sucanat, maple syrup (no wonder it was so sweet!), salt, dried fruit, and cinnamon.

Now the mistakes started happening:

• First, this baking dish was too large, making my bars much too thin.
• Second, I should have thought to cut back on the sweeteners; the bars not only tasted too sweet, but the use of both maple syrup and honey made them a sticky mess to consume.
• Third, even though I let them cool completely before trying to cut them, I really should have popped them in the refrigerator first. Most of them totally fell apart in the cutting process! I photographed the ones that most closely resembled bars, but in truth the majority were more like granola blobs.

Even though my mistakes were many, I do think this recipe has potential. So I am including the original one, the changes I made, and the changes I wish I had made. You can then decide for yourself the best way to adapt.

White House Granola Bars
Recipe from The New York Times
Yields 2 dozen bars (I cut the recipe in half)

Ingredients
6 tbsp grapeseed oil (I used olive oil)
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup mixed seeds (I used raw sunflower seeds)
1/2 cup honey (I wish I had omitted either this or the maple syrup)
1/3 cup dark brown sugar (I used Sucanat)
1/3 cup maple syrup
pinch of salt
1.5 cups mixed dried fruit (I used the TJ’s Golden Berry Blend)
1 tsp ground cardamom or cinnamon (I used cinnamon)

1. Pre-heat oven to 350º. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or foil, letting a few inches hang over side of pan. Brush with oil. (I used an 8-inch square pan even though I cut the recipe in half. This pan was then much too large. Also, I used non-stick foil and did not brush with oil.)

2. Spread oats and seeds on another baking pan and toast in oven just until golden and fragrant, 6-8 minutes, shaking pan once. (I toasted them in a dry skillet over medium-heat instead.)

3. In a saucepan, combine oil, honey, brown sugar, maple syrup, and salt. Stir over medium heat until smooth and hot. In a mixing bowl, toss together toasted oats and seeds, dried fruit, and cardamom or cinnamon. Pour hot sugar mixture over and stir until well combined.

4. While mixture is warm, transfer to prepared pan, pressing into pan evenly with an offset spatula.

5. Bake until brown, 25-30 minutes. Transfer pan to a rack and let cool completely. (I wish I had stuck the pan in the refrigerator at this point.) Using the overhanging foil or paper, lift out of pan and place on a work surface. Cut into bars, about 1.5 inches by 3 inches.

So that is what it is. I’m still searching for a baking success. Unlike the fine folks at this awesome establishment.

YES! My first trip to Great Harvest Bread Company! Dave and I recently had some business to take care of in Columbia, MD, where there happens to be a location. I was like a kid in a candy store in there!

I ate this unbelievable Blueberry-Cream Cheese scone – which was approximately the size of my head! – on the spot.

And we took home a loaf of the Dakota Bread Kath is always raving about…with good reason!

This bread is soft and fluffy, but with the perfect crunch from all of the seeds.

You could easily just eat it by the chunk, which I did! I also paired it with a hunk of Brie and with some locally-made blackberry jam. Please promise me if you’re ever in a Great Harvest that you will purchase this bread. You won’t regret it!

I bet their White House Granola Bars would have turned out just fine…delicious, probably!

Are you a baker? Have you had any failed baking attempts like mine? Do you think there’s hope for me???

AND

Ever been to a Great Harvest? What did you buy there?

Comments (49)

By Katie, August 25, 2010 5:45 am

I had originally planned on posting a granola bar recipe today, but sometimes such plans must be tossed to the wayside. Something told me to instead post about a topic that I’ve been struggling with lately on a more personal level. But don’t worry; the granola bar recipe will be coming tomorrow.

I am by nature a daydreamer. My mind tends to wander this way and that way, and I often have to purposefully pull myself out of my own little mental world. I’m like the kid at school who stares out the window when she should be completing her spelling test.

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Most of the time my daydreaming is harmless. But lately I’ve noticed my mental musings slipping back into a realm I do not care to inhabit, one that’s filled with what I’m calling “thin fantasies.”

Thin fantasies are daydreams that start off innocent enough: imagining an upcoming vacation or special event, or maybe what life will look like a few months down the road. But when I dig a little deeper, I notice that the “me” I’m picturing on that future vacation or at that future time doesn’t look like the “me” sitting in front of the computer today. The future Katie looks different…she looks thinner.

Maybe that doesn’t seem like a big deal, but in my opinion the fact that I’m harboring these thin fantasies is unacceptable, for two reasons:

1. My thin fantasies demonstrate that I am still falling into the trap of “life will be so much better when I lose those 10 pounds.” You see, I’m not just thinner in these reveries; I’m also more confident, funnier, the life of the party. In these visions, I basically have no problems whatsoever. Because, apparently, 10 pounds is all that stands in the way between my present self and pure bliss.

2. Imagining myself as so-very-different demonstrates that I am still in the state that Christie articulated so well in her Monday Book Club discussion - the state of wanting to fix myself. Why do I need to be thinner in these visions in order to see myself as happy, confident, and carefree? Why can’t I just accept myself as-is, no changes necessary? Why do I have to remain in a state of flux, a state of self-improvement? Why can’t I just be?

It’s worth noting that while not everyone harbors thin fantasies, I think these “I will be different than I am today” daydreams are pretty common. Maybe you look the same but you own a stellar car or an amazing home. Maybe you envision yourself in a much more high-profile career. But in some way you imagine what life will be like when things are not the way they are today.

I think I should also mention that I’m not talking about having a goal and fantasizing about the path to get there. Goals are good; a lack of self-acceptance is not.

So today I am committing to blocking these thin fantasies out of my mental awareness. The moment I notice one creeping up, I am going to nip it in the bud, all the while reminding myself that even though change can be good, I am perfectly acceptable exactly as I am today. Besides, there are so many worthwhile things to muse about (saving the planet, bringing about world peace, what’s for dinner, etc.), there simply isn’t enough room in my noggin for self-rejection.

Is any of this ringing a bell? Have you ever caught yourself having a “thin fantasy,” where you imagine your future self as looking a bit different from today’s reflection in the mirror?

Comments (39)

By Katie, August 24, 2010 5:39 am

As I recently explained, a few weeks ago I decided to start focusing more on strength training, primarily by going to Body Pump classes and by lifting free weights in my living room. I really enjoy strength training; I think it’s fun while I’m doing it and I love the way my body looks and feels when I have a bit of muscle-action going on.

Indeed, the reason I strength train is because I love the benefits it brings me here and now. But the truth is that if I stick with it, the advantages could serve me well into the future.

I recently came across this interesting article that highlights some new research on muscle memory. As the article explains:

Pumping up is easier for people who have been buff before, and now scientists think they know why – muscles retain a memory of their former fitness even as they wither from lack of use…The findings suggest that exercise early in life could help fend off frailness in the elderly.

In other words, what I do today really can have a positive impact on my health down the road, even if I have slip-ups along the way.

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I realize that’s not a huge surprise, but the research could have some interesting implications. For example, the article notes that it may affect how long sports agencies ban athletes who have been suspended for taking steroids and other performance-enhacing drugs, since the advantages they get could last much longer than we thought before. It could also prompt schools to begin incorporating more muscle-building activity into their gym classes.

For me, though, it’s just a needed reminder that I really am in this for the long-haul; I’m taking my health seriously now so that I don’t end up with huge regrets down the road. Of course there are no guarantees – I can do everything right today and my body could still suffer when I’m older. But maybe it won’t. Maybe the choices I make in my 20s and 30s really will enhance my future quality of life.

I admit that when I’m trying to pry myself out of bed at 5 a.m. to make it to Body Pump, I’m usually not thinking about how this will help me when I’m 70. And when I’m 70, I probably won’t remember those mornings I gave up an extra hour of sleep for the sake of exercise. That is, my mind probably won’t remember. But apparently my muscles will, and they will thank me.

Have you heard about this idea of “muscle memory” before?

AND

Does thinking about your golden years motivate you to take care of yourself in the present?