This weather is insane! So OU has canceled campus again for tomorrow and that would make it three days in a row as of now. We started back to school on January 18 and tomorrow will mark our fourth snow day of the semester. Insane right? Well I am pretty sure that is a record for the University of Oklahoma. Sadly however the campus will probably be open on Friday which normally for me would not matter because I don't have class on Friday, but this Friday is going to be a little different. Allow me to explain. I am currently enrolled in a race gender and the media course, which is right up my ally because I really enjoy things about the media and race and gender studies. However this is a cross listed course which means it is comprised of both graduate students (three to be exact) and undergraduate students. The graduate students have some extra assignments so that it is fair for us to get credit for the course. That too is fine. We meet with the professor of the course every Wednesday after class, by we I mean the three graduate students, but due to a conflict in schedules this week we have to meet on Friday at 10 a.m.
Normally this would not be a problem, but I was really hoping to leave town tomorrow after my post op appointment and go spend time with my besty for his birthday. It can still be done, but it will just be later and I am just whining...lol. Now on the topic of whining, let me whine to you about something else. The weather...so today I made my friend Chrystle go with me to the OU men's basketball game. We played Baylor and won! This is amazing because OU's men have not been having their best season. I like to think they won because I was there. Never in my life have I attended an OU game where we lost. Football I guess is a little unfair for me to have this theory since OU just does not lose at home, but basketball that's another story all together. So yay! My sooner's won!
After the game we went to Chrystle's house so she could grab some essentials and get snowed in with me for the remainder of the snow days. It was like Alaska trying to get into her house. I now know what Sarah Palin feels like trying to get from the car to the house. Insane I tell you. Also word to the wise do not wear ankle socks when it is snowy outside, because if you step in the snow you want something higher up your leg instead of giving it a perfect place to rest. I now know this.
So yesterday I told you about my fear of snacking and it's a pretty fair fear. Well because boredom makes you think you need to be doing something and eating seems like a better option than I don't know lets say reading for class. So Tiffani messaged me some suggestions and I will share them with you. I will copy and paste her message to me. Here it is. Suggestions from Tiff:
"Almonds!- even a handful makes you feel like you ate something substantial, and they are full of good fats, go for natural unsalted ones though."
"Liquid egg whites- this has become a regular thing I buy at the grocery store, why? because it is soo easy to use and low in sodium, and calories. high in protein. you can mix in some bell pepper and onion and throw it on a whole wheat english muffin or whole wheat bread."
"Bananas and/or apples- both give you a satisfying "full" feeling. also since bananas are high in potassium they are great for post workout snack."
"I've started eating 1 tsp of Smart balance Creamy peanut butter, 1/2 banana sliced on 1 piece of whole wheat bread along with 1 cup of fat free milk."
"Skinny Cow Ice cream cups- Not to be had everyday but a GREAT alternative to regular ice cream and it taste great! :)"
"Kashi Cinnamon Harvest Cereal- 180 calories per 28 biscuits and absolutly NO sodium :) I LOVE Kashi! lol .. It has a great taste without adding sugar, however a little sweetner goes a long way if you need it to be sweeter. So the only sodium you add to this is whats in a cup of fat free milk.. usually around 150 MG. overall since its whole grain it fills you up for a while."
"Bran flakes- Lower in calories than Kashi but higher in sodium. Bran however keeps digestive stuff working right so its good to alternate."
"If your looking for something yummy to share with someone, try once of Kashi;s new pizzas. They are great. They have a veggie pizza and its my fav. Sodium is kinda high about 630MG per 1/3 of a pizza. But calories aren't bad."
"Yogurt!- Ive come to love yogurt, weight watchers has a cheesecake yogurt that is great! only 100 calories per cup, 110 MG sodium. Yoplait Whips orange cream is 140 calories per serv and only 70 mg of sodium. I love both of these."
"Salad- good ol salad ..lol,"
"String cheese and apple slices- Ive come to love this as a snack. the cheese has a lot of sodium but its a low calorie snack :)"
"Hope this gives you some ideas!! :)"
I hope you take some of Tiff's suggestions. I know I will. Enjoy your break from work or school if you get one too. Stay warm and I'll post more stuff for you tomorrow after my doctor's appointment. Maybe he can find out why he didn't fix me.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
My Life's Biggest Project: Snack Attack
My Life's Biggest Project: Snack Attack: "How about that severe winter weather we are having here in the Sooner state. They were so sure that the weather was going to be this bad yes..."
Snack Attack
How about that severe winter weather we are having here in the Sooner state. They were so sure that the weather was going to be this bad yesterday the university sent me a text message, a voicemessge and not one, but two e-mails around 4:30 letting me know that the campus would be closed today. The messages also let me know that if they decide to close campus tomorrow due to the weather they will let me know by 4 p.m. today. How very nice of them to keep me in the know.
I am not ever one to complain about having a day off, but people are crazy. I haven't really been grocery shopping since I've been home from Christmas break so I figured now would be a good time right, uh no wrong. Everyone was acting like the Y2K scare all over again. The isles were almost completely bare at Wal-mart and to be honest with you I didn't want to deal with the lines reaching almost all the way back to the electronics department. So what did I do? Well I bought Jurassic Park for $5 and my bff Eric's birthday present then went on my merry little way.
What about my grocery situation you may be wondering. Well once I left I ran up to campus with my friend Chrystle and thought very seriously about what I was going to live off of while I was snowed in. I decided that food was going to have to happen, so I ran to Homeland and got some milk because I have lots of Special K at the house. Everything was too picked over to be able to really shop. I try to avoid grocery shopping at two times, one pending ice storms and two the first of the month when everyone gets their food stamps. These are not good times to try to fill your pantry.
The problem with getting snowed in is boredom. It makes you want to really do nothing but lay around. I don't know about you, but when I lay around and watch TV for some reason I think that I need to snack and that is when I catch myself in what I like to call bombarded with the snack attack. Chrystle brought pretzels over and I'm pretty sure between she and I were ate about half of the bag last night. So since I was thinking about snacking I figured I would look up health araticles about it.
My friend Tiffani told me about a Web site that I should look at called http://www.livestrong.com/ so I did. One of the things I came across was an article about snacking and if done right not only will it help you maintain your weight, but if you're dieting it will also help you lose weight. By choosing the right snacks like fruits and vegetables you are giving your body some of the nutrients that it really needs. In fact according to this article, a study that was published in the Health and Education Journal in 2005 it was found that teenagers, especially teenage boys had a boost in their intake of needed nutrients such as zinc, iron and calcium. All of this just because they snacked smart during the day.
Some people, especially those who are elderly tend to have this problem called early satiety. This is where they feel full before they have met their nutritional and coloric needs. I know this is a real thing because my Papa Gene is always full pretty quick these days and it barely looks like he's touched his plate. This is odd because he's always had a pretty good appetite. Well a fix to this problem would be to eat smaller meals and snack throughout the day. Not just old people benefit from this, people who suffer from heartburn or gastroesophageal reflux (GERD) also tend to suffer less severe "flareups" while eating this way.
So basically what we have learned from this article is that it is OK to snack, if you snack smart. So what I suggest to you all is that you enjoy this break of a day and feel free to snack around, but make smart decisions while doing it. I don't really feel like cooking or having to clean up on my day off so I'm probably going to snack on my Special K...lol. Enjoy your snow day and tell me what you're doing today. I need some suggestions. It's only 1 p.m. and I've been up since like 7 a.m. I'm seriously running out of things to do...lol. More to come tomorrow. I let you know what I end up doing to fill my time. Also I would like to take this moment to thank Tiffani for showing me this awesome Web site. I also encourage you all to look at it too!
I am not ever one to complain about having a day off, but people are crazy. I haven't really been grocery shopping since I've been home from Christmas break so I figured now would be a good time right, uh no wrong. Everyone was acting like the Y2K scare all over again. The isles were almost completely bare at Wal-mart and to be honest with you I didn't want to deal with the lines reaching almost all the way back to the electronics department. So what did I do? Well I bought Jurassic Park for $5 and my bff Eric's birthday present then went on my merry little way.
What about my grocery situation you may be wondering. Well once I left I ran up to campus with my friend Chrystle and thought very seriously about what I was going to live off of while I was snowed in. I decided that food was going to have to happen, so I ran to Homeland and got some milk because I have lots of Special K at the house. Everything was too picked over to be able to really shop. I try to avoid grocery shopping at two times, one pending ice storms and two the first of the month when everyone gets their food stamps. These are not good times to try to fill your pantry.
The problem with getting snowed in is boredom. It makes you want to really do nothing but lay around. I don't know about you, but when I lay around and watch TV for some reason I think that I need to snack and that is when I catch myself in what I like to call bombarded with the snack attack. Chrystle brought pretzels over and I'm pretty sure between she and I were ate about half of the bag last night. So since I was thinking about snacking I figured I would look up health araticles about it.
My friend Tiffani told me about a Web site that I should look at called http://www.livestrong.com/ so I did. One of the things I came across was an article about snacking and if done right not only will it help you maintain your weight, but if you're dieting it will also help you lose weight. By choosing the right snacks like fruits and vegetables you are giving your body some of the nutrients that it really needs. In fact according to this article, a study that was published in the Health and Education Journal in 2005 it was found that teenagers, especially teenage boys had a boost in their intake of needed nutrients such as zinc, iron and calcium. All of this just because they snacked smart during the day.
Some people, especially those who are elderly tend to have this problem called early satiety. This is where they feel full before they have met their nutritional and coloric needs. I know this is a real thing because my Papa Gene is always full pretty quick these days and it barely looks like he's touched his plate. This is odd because he's always had a pretty good appetite. Well a fix to this problem would be to eat smaller meals and snack throughout the day. Not just old people benefit from this, people who suffer from heartburn or gastroesophageal reflux (GERD) also tend to suffer less severe "flareups" while eating this way.
So basically what we have learned from this article is that it is OK to snack, if you snack smart. So what I suggest to you all is that you enjoy this break of a day and feel free to snack around, but make smart decisions while doing it. I don't really feel like cooking or having to clean up on my day off so I'm probably going to snack on my Special K...lol. Enjoy your snow day and tell me what you're doing today. I need some suggestions. It's only 1 p.m. and I've been up since like 7 a.m. I'm seriously running out of things to do...lol. More to come tomorrow. I let you know what I end up doing to fill my time. Also I would like to take this moment to thank Tiffani for showing me this awesome Web site. I also encourage you all to look at it too!
Monday, January 31, 2011
My Life's Biggest Project: Walking to school helps...if you're a girl
My Life's Biggest Project: Walking to school helps...if you're a girl: "As most of you know one of the things that I have decided to do is walk to school. The good thing about this is that it helps me wake up bef..."
Walking to school helps...if you're a girl
As most of you know one of the things that I have decided to do is walk to school. The good thing about this is that it helps me wake up before I get to school, it gives me time to think about and mentally prepare for my and now according to studies it may even make me do better on tests. Sounds silly right, well it just might not be as silly as you may think it to be.
I scanned the news and saw an article entitled, Girls who walk, bike to school do better in tests: Spanish study shows that the longer the commute the higher the scores. This article was found on msnbc. com. So basically the study talks about how girls do better on exams when they have more than a 15 minute commute to school. They however found no significance in boys. The reason for this is unsure, but there are a couple of theories. One would be that boys may get more exercise overall throughout the day so this morning walk would not really make a difference. The second theory is that it may just be a difference in boys and girls brains. The theory has to do with neurological stimulants being different in the female brain and the male brain. The problem with this is that these two things are just theories so the answer to what the difference is between boys and girls in this aspect has yet to be found.
Wondering if it were just a difference between boys and girls in Spain a very similar study was done in Sweden, where they found the very same results. There was a difference in up to four points in girls who walked or biked to school, but still no difference for boys. The other thing that was found was that the longer the commute to school the better the female child did on the test.
So this is just something else that Europeans have going for them. If this be so overseas it should be so in the United States...right? Well yes and no. The fact is that not all commutes are equal. In Europe the child will have a much more stimulating walk by walking through town and passing shops and cafes. A typical suburb here in the States is not going to do much to stimulate us. We will end up walking by cookie cutter type houses. Also safety plays a factor. As we all know not all neighborhoods are good ones to be walked through and if their is high traffic then that would also not be beneficial. One of the plus sides to this study is that the female student has time to think about her day and if she is worried for her life she obviously is going to be thinking about more important things than her exam.
I was intrigued after I read this article for many reasons. But the biggest thing that it told me was that it was yet again another great reason for me to walk to school. I have about a 20 to 30 minute walk from my apartment to my college, I walk past a museum with cafe tables and chairs, dorms and a lot of really pretty landscaping because one thing that OU doesn't skimp on is that. I have all the right ingredients to be a good candidate for doing better on my tests or whatever at school. I'm a female and I have a good long commute. Graduate school is not the easiest thing I've ever done by any means so if it talks a little walk to put some pep in my step and an increase in my grades them of course I'm down. If you are able to walk to school I suggest you give it a try too.
I scanned the news and saw an article entitled, Girls who walk, bike to school do better in tests: Spanish study shows that the longer the commute the higher the scores. This article was found on msnbc. com. So basically the study talks about how girls do better on exams when they have more than a 15 minute commute to school. They however found no significance in boys. The reason for this is unsure, but there are a couple of theories. One would be that boys may get more exercise overall throughout the day so this morning walk would not really make a difference. The second theory is that it may just be a difference in boys and girls brains. The theory has to do with neurological stimulants being different in the female brain and the male brain. The problem with this is that these two things are just theories so the answer to what the difference is between boys and girls in this aspect has yet to be found.
So this is just something else that Europeans have going for them. If this be so overseas it should be so in the United States...right? Well yes and no. The fact is that not all commutes are equal. In Europe the child will have a much more stimulating walk by walking through town and passing shops and cafes. A typical suburb here in the States is not going to do much to stimulate us. We will end up walking by cookie cutter type houses. Also safety plays a factor. As we all know not all neighborhoods are good ones to be walked through and if their is high traffic then that would also not be beneficial. One of the plus sides to this study is that the female student has time to think about her day and if she is worried for her life she obviously is going to be thinking about more important things than her exam.
I was intrigued after I read this article for many reasons. But the biggest thing that it told me was that it was yet again another great reason for me to walk to school. I have about a 20 to 30 minute walk from my apartment to my college, I walk past a museum with cafe tables and chairs, dorms and a lot of really pretty landscaping because one thing that OU doesn't skimp on is that. I have all the right ingredients to be a good candidate for doing better on my tests or whatever at school. I'm a female and I have a good long commute. Graduate school is not the easiest thing I've ever done by any means so if it talks a little walk to put some pep in my step and an increase in my grades them of course I'm down. If you are able to walk to school I suggest you give it a try too.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
My Life's Biggest Project: Addiction Awareness
My Life's Biggest Project: Addiction Awareness: "Yesterday after my post I was waiting on my friend Eric to get around so that he and I could go tackle the day. While I was waiting for him ..."
Addiction Awareness
Yesterday after my post I was waiting on my friend Eric to get around so that he and I could go tackle the day. While I was waiting for him I decided to watch some television. Being a fan of pop culture I stumbled across an episode of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. I truly love hearing his perspective on things. I remember in middle school sometimes I would listen to Dr. Drew's radio show Loveline on The Edge. His speaking voice is very soothing, which is great for his patients I'm sure.
Well while I'm watching this reunion show I caught myself coming to tears with everything that these people had gone through. Addiction is one of those things that people can not truly understand unless they themselves have been through it personally. Have any of you? I have seen it first hand. Someone who I was very close to at one point in my life struggled through drug addiction and still does, because like they said on the show I watched, being a recovering addict can take up to 20 years or more for someone to really truly concur this problem. Relapses are normal.
I have lost relationships that meant a lot to me due to addiction. It's sad, but it is one of those things that nobody can fix for the other person. The addict has to do it all by themselves. Now you can be supportive, but they have to be the one to decide that they are through. I bring this up because one thing a lot of people do not realize is that obesity caused by overeating is in fact an addiction problem. Drug addicts and alcholics did not become addicts over night. It was a process the same as food. The only difference is that taking cigarettes, drugs or alcohol out of the mix is good and will save the person's life. Taking food out of the person's life is not an option.
People do not understand that food can be one of the most addicting things of all. They think oh you're fat because you have no self control, yet we sympathize with someone who shoots something into their arm that was concocted in a bathtub with ingredients found under your kitchen sink. Where is the logic? This is the reason why people struggle to lose weight. They never deal with the root of the problem. If you were in drug rehab, Dr. Drew or whoever would have counceling sessions with their patient to try to find out when and why you turned to escapism or the need to be high. They would break you down to finding the very instant in your life that this thought process took over your brain. Once this is found then the addict can begin to overcome the problem. We do not do this for people who have a food addiction.
Food addicts have withdrawl symptoms just like alcholics and drug addicts. They suffer from relapses, temptation (and lots of it because no matter where we go food is everywhere. Recovering drug addicts don't have lines of blow thrown in their face everyday unless they hang out at places where it is accessible.) and the very same feelings of depression and anxiety. Using food as comfort is the same thing as an addict using to numb themselves. For a food addict they get the same kind of high off of it. Another thing is what we call the "come down period" for alcoholics and drug addicts this is where they start to sober up and come off of their high. They felt great while they were high, but now they are hitting a low because yet again they have messed up. Someone with a food addiction feels great while they are eating, but once they have that moment of clarity of what they are doing they too feel the same guilt.
Honestly and truly anytime someone talks about drug or alcohol addiction they could interchange those words with food and it would be the same thing. Sadly in our society it is more socially acceptable or at least something that reacieves more sympathy than someone who claims to be addicted to food.
Just the other day one of my friends was talking on Facebook about how all the new years resolutioners were going to be taking up lots of space in the gym and that by the end of February they wouldn't even still be going. There was a long feed of responses to this of people agreeing with him and understanding where he was coming from. I even get what he was saying, but it is that mentality that keeps people from keeping on. Discouragement is the greatest excuse to stop. And all an addict needs is a teensy tiny excuse. Another one of my friends commented on this post saying that because people say things like that is what keeps these people from keeping their resolutions and she is 100 percent correct. Now my friend who had this as his status did not mean it to be mean. He's a super nice guy and I've personally never witnessed him do or say anything mean. He probably was genuinely annoyed by the fact that he couldn't get to his machines because of the new crowd and I get that. However with that said, we need to not be the excuse.
My person in my life who was suffering from drug addiction would try to find excuses to relapse and really if you look for one you can find it. It is amazing what the mind can create if we want it to. The reason for this like I said is because of all the temptation that is everywhere. I was in church today and that is what the sermon was all about was trying to not give into temptation. The problem is that it will never go away so we must find a way to overcome it.
I ask you all to consider everything I've said today. Try to be sensitive and encouraging to those around you. You never know what they are going through or how inspirational even a smile can be to that person. We are all more important to others than we can imagine. I believe that God puts us in certain places at certain times for a reason and if my reason was just to tell someone good job then my job is done. Those two words really could change someone's entire perspective of themselves. It really really is the little things in life that can make the biggest difference.
I also ask you all to not give into the temptations and you have no idea how very proud of yourself you will be. The overwhelming feelings will subside and in the end you will be so proud of yourself. That my friends is an amazing award. Really over all what I hope you take from this post is to be thoughtful of yourself and others. In the end you will be happier for it. So be kind to one another and have a great remainder to your weekend. Monday's coming along with some wacky winter weather in this part of the country so enjoy it now. I'll post new things to think about tomorrow!
I have lost relationships that meant a lot to me due to addiction. It's sad, but it is one of those things that nobody can fix for the other person. The addict has to do it all by themselves. Now you can be supportive, but they have to be the one to decide that they are through. I bring this up because one thing a lot of people do not realize is that obesity caused by overeating is in fact an addiction problem. Drug addicts and alcholics did not become addicts over night. It was a process the same as food. The only difference is that taking cigarettes, drugs or alcohol out of the mix is good and will save the person's life. Taking food out of the person's life is not an option.
People do not understand that food can be one of the most addicting things of all. They think oh you're fat because you have no self control, yet we sympathize with someone who shoots something into their arm that was concocted in a bathtub with ingredients found under your kitchen sink. Where is the logic? This is the reason why people struggle to lose weight. They never deal with the root of the problem. If you were in drug rehab, Dr. Drew or whoever would have counceling sessions with their patient to try to find out when and why you turned to escapism or the need to be high. They would break you down to finding the very instant in your life that this thought process took over your brain. Once this is found then the addict can begin to overcome the problem. We do not do this for people who have a food addiction.
Food addicts have withdrawl symptoms just like alcholics and drug addicts. They suffer from relapses, temptation (and lots of it because no matter where we go food is everywhere. Recovering drug addicts don't have lines of blow thrown in their face everyday unless they hang out at places where it is accessible.) and the very same feelings of depression and anxiety. Using food as comfort is the same thing as an addict using to numb themselves. For a food addict they get the same kind of high off of it. Another thing is what we call the "come down period" for alcoholics and drug addicts this is where they start to sober up and come off of their high. They felt great while they were high, but now they are hitting a low because yet again they have messed up. Someone with a food addiction feels great while they are eating, but once they have that moment of clarity of what they are doing they too feel the same guilt.
Honestly and truly anytime someone talks about drug or alcohol addiction they could interchange those words with food and it would be the same thing. Sadly in our society it is more socially acceptable or at least something that reacieves more sympathy than someone who claims to be addicted to food.
Just the other day one of my friends was talking on Facebook about how all the new years resolutioners were going to be taking up lots of space in the gym and that by the end of February they wouldn't even still be going. There was a long feed of responses to this of people agreeing with him and understanding where he was coming from. I even get what he was saying, but it is that mentality that keeps people from keeping on. Discouragement is the greatest excuse to stop. And all an addict needs is a teensy tiny excuse. Another one of my friends commented on this post saying that because people say things like that is what keeps these people from keeping their resolutions and she is 100 percent correct. Now my friend who had this as his status did not mean it to be mean. He's a super nice guy and I've personally never witnessed him do or say anything mean. He probably was genuinely annoyed by the fact that he couldn't get to his machines because of the new crowd and I get that. However with that said, we need to not be the excuse.
My person in my life who was suffering from drug addiction would try to find excuses to relapse and really if you look for one you can find it. It is amazing what the mind can create if we want it to. The reason for this like I said is because of all the temptation that is everywhere. I was in church today and that is what the sermon was all about was trying to not give into temptation. The problem is that it will never go away so we must find a way to overcome it.
I ask you all to consider everything I've said today. Try to be sensitive and encouraging to those around you. You never know what they are going through or how inspirational even a smile can be to that person. We are all more important to others than we can imagine. I believe that God puts us in certain places at certain times for a reason and if my reason was just to tell someone good job then my job is done. Those two words really could change someone's entire perspective of themselves. It really really is the little things in life that can make the biggest difference.
I also ask you all to not give into the temptations and you have no idea how very proud of yourself you will be. The overwhelming feelings will subside and in the end you will be so proud of yourself. That my friends is an amazing award. Really over all what I hope you take from this post is to be thoughtful of yourself and others. In the end you will be happier for it. So be kind to one another and have a great remainder to your weekend. Monday's coming along with some wacky winter weather in this part of the country so enjoy it now. I'll post new things to think about tomorrow!
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