Edible

The whole thing started off innocent enough. Lauren, my lovely wife, in an effort to improve her running times and become more fit read a book call Brain Training For Runners. The book covers the mental aspects of training your body. Every few days Lauren would tell me about her discoveries in the book and how she implemented them into her work outs. I admit most were fascinating, but not enough for me to actually try. I believe somewhere in that book it mentioned that certain kind of foods increase the body's and brain's ability to function as an athlete.

This lead Lauren down a path of reading books about nutrition for athletes. Every so often she would tell me about certain foods she was trying. I started noticing a few different types of food containers in the pantry or fridge. Again fascinating discoveries about food that I never implemented into my routines.

Somewhere in the food book Lauren read about the book called the China Study and the documentary film Forks Over Knives which she of course got both from the library. Lauren discovered all kinds of great information in both sources. The overall message was one can reduce chronic illness and diseases and enhance their overall health by adopting a whole foods plant based diet and reducing the intake of processed foods. As Lauren started adopting these changes into our household I noticed Lauren was preparing our family meals a bit different. We were eating more salads, fruits, vegetables and whole grains. I, again, was noticing different types of food packages and containers in our pantry. Labels that read quinoa, tofu and soy were replacing certain staples of Lauren's cooking repertoire.

Lauren and I discussed our diets. Unlike the other discoveries I felt changing our diet was something in which I could participate. We both agreed that we were not eliminating all meat or processed foods but that we would be more conscientious of food labels. We would try to buy products that listed "true" ingredients with no artificial additives or fillers. All of the changes we were making were gradual.

The other night, after everyone was in bed, I had a hankering for snack. Earlier I spotted a few packages of hot dogs crammed in the freezer and I knew that one or two dogs would satisfy my craving. I noticed that the packaging was different than the usual hot dogs we buy and I thought that Lauren must have bought a "healthier" hot dog (if there is such a thing). I took a closer look at the label and did a double take.

This is what I saw.

I thought Lauren was taking the healthy eating true ingredients thing a bit too far.

I had three anus dogs that night. They were yummy.

Looking out for Buses

Thirty some odd days ago I started an exercises routine/program. Since starting that program I have also taken up running. Here are some of my observations about diet and exercise.

Running sucks.

Dieting sucks.

Exercising is not so bad.

I have become one of those annoying people who does nothing but talk about dieting and exercising.

I really think that people who diet and exercise and say they "lost" weight are selling themselves short. You lose your keys. You lose your cell phone. Dieting and exercising to drop pounds is hard work.

The worst nights to run in my neighborhood are Monday and Thursday nights. Trash night. Trash cans line the street and on hot humid nights the smell from the cans can cause pockets of gag inducing stench. Establishing an inhale-through-the-nose breathing rhythm is very difficult on trash night.

I am down 14 pounds since I started working out. I need to work off another 14.

Counting calories is very difficult. There is no guidebook that tells you how many calories are in the cut off crusts of your kids peanut butter and fluff sandwiches. Or how many calories are in the last few bites of a bowl of Rice Krispies your kid did not finish.

The people you see everyday do not notice your physical changes. It is nice to invite friends over who you have not seen in over a month so they can compliment you on your looks.

I used to be one of those people who would say "What's the point of eating healthy and exercising, I could get hit by a bus tomorrow." Now, I am on the look out for buses as I run across and down the road.

Music choice is very important when running. I noticed I do better when I listen to a "live" album. I imagine that the people cheering in the song are actually cheering for me. I try to time the end of my run to coincide with Peter Gabriel's Solsbury Hill live version. Having "people" cheering is not important for the entire run but it definitely helps at the end of the run so I suggest having at least one 2 to 3 minutes "live" song on the ipod.

I find myself getting more done in other aspects of my life such as yard work, house work, playing with the kids etc. Dieting and working out has giving me more energy for other things.

Speaking of having more energy for other things, does Barry White have a "live" album? You know what I'm saying? You know what I'm saying? Again, I would only need a 2 to 3 minute song. (Boom. I just saved you the comment Anonymous.)